Hold On
by Piper1019
Summary: Her mother left without her knowing and her father now tortures her. At Hogwarts it should get better but does it? Will she find a friend in an enemy? HarryPansy. COMPLETE.
1. Two more days

Hey everyone! First of all, if you're reading this…thanks!!!! Really appreciate it. I hope you enjoy. I thought I'd try something a little different. 

Disclaimer: Don't own a damn thing.

A/N: * means they are thinking and " means they are talking. Takes place in their 7th year. 

Side note: Cathyhb helped me with the idea. Thanks cathyhb! By the way…check out her stories, especially if you are a D/Hm shipper. You'll love 'em! Promise!

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Chapter 1

 She found herself in front of the manor's large wooden doors all too soon. Weighed down with packages from school shopping in Diagon Alley, she barely managed to open the door. As she walked into the hallway, which was more like an atrium, she looked around at the castle-like manor and it filled her with memories, not all of which were pleasant. 

 Just two months ago, she had loved this house. She couldn't wait to come home and enjoy her summer holidays before her seventh and final year at Hogwarts. When she got home, however, it was to an almost deserted manor and a very bitter father. Over the last school year, there had been problems with her parents' marriage that she had not been aware of (because she was at school). She arrived home to the news that her mother had abandoned her and her father to move to America with another man. Her mother had told her father that he was not good enough for her, and that she wanted to be with someone who was more powerful and higher in the Dark Lord's ranks. This is why she left with the man to America. They left to recruit more supporters for the Dark Lord. 

She shuddered at the memory and tried hard not to remember the look on her fathers face as he told her. It was a mix between all of the emotions that one person could possibly feel at a time without exploding: sadness, betrayal, depression, disbelief, to name a few. But the one that stood out the most was anger. He could not possibly understand what he had done to deserve such a thing. The hate in his eyes was unbearable in her opinion. He had even fired all of their house elves because he longed to be alone. Now the only person he could vent his rage out on was her: Pansy.

She quickly readjusted her things so that she could close the door quietly. Then she climbed the stairs to go to her room. With every step she prayed harder that September first would come, the blessed day that she could return to Hogwarts and be away from her father. As she placed all of her newly bought things on her bed she tried hard to remember that there were only two more days to go. Then she heard a small explosion and a yell that interrupted her thoughts. 

"Oh no, what is it now?" she whispered to herself. 

Quickly and quietly she went down the stairs to see what had happened to make her father yell. She found him in the large living room trying to start the fire in the fireplace. From the looks of the partially burnt carpet, the fire that was crackling merrily in the fireplace, and the way her father was holding his hand, she guessed that he had said the spell with a little too much enthusiasm and had caused a slightly larger fire than he had intended. 

"Are you alright?" she asked as she hurried to his side.

He was still cursing under his breath. "Do I look it?" he snapped back forcefully. "Don't just stand there you good for nothing slut; go get the healing potion!" 

She was far to used to this for her feelings to be really hurt. He had been calling her every name under the sun since she had gotten home. She tried to act like it didn't hurt, but how could it not. She hurried quickly out of the room and headed towards the potions cupboard were they kept all of the healing potions. She took out a small, clear vial with a bright aqua blue liquid inside and hurried back to her father's side. 

"It's about time. Do you _want_ my hand to fall off?" 

"No," was all she could whisper. She knew better than to get into an argument with him now. 

"Well, you could've fooled me."

He snatched to vial out of her hand and began to pour some of the potion on his burns. He didn't seem to care that the potion was freely dripping from his hand to the carpet. It's not like he as going to have to clean it up.

She didn't like the awkward silence so she braved to ask him a question, even if she already knew the answer. "Did the spell go wrong?"

"Of course it bloody well went wrong, are you blind? I have to do everything around here. The least _you_ could do is start a fucking fire every once in a while! I swear, you are too lazy, just like your no good whore of a mother."

She was sorry she had tried to start a conversation with him. She had fooled herself into thinking he might be civil. She still had hope he would change back into the loving father she had once known. He very well knew that he did nothing around the house. After he had fired all of the house elves, she, Pansy, practically became one; always cooking and cleaning, everyday. She decided to try a different conversation. 

"Maybe you could take back some of the elves that you fired. Then we would have some help around here. It is a big house."

"You know, you must think I'm stupid, don't you. You just want to get out of doing the housework that you should be doing anyway! I will NOT take those miserable elves back. They were always more loyal to _her anyway." He was referring to Pansy's mother. The elves had belonged to her family and therefore were more loyal to the mother. Then as he got up to replace the vial in the cupboard he added, "You couldn't pay me enough to take back those creatures, or her for that matter." _

He said this while looking at Pansy. It annoyed her father how much she looked like her mother. They both had the same shoulder length, straight blonde hair and the sky blue eyes. They were even the same height. Pansy did her best not to remind him of this. Her mother had always worn her hair down, so Pansy always wore hers back in a tight bun or ponytail. Today it was a ponytail. 

She noticed her father staring at her and became uncomfortable. This was never a good thing. Whenever he stared at her it meant that she had forgotten to do something or he was about to criticize her, or worse. However, he simply said, "Hurry up and get started on dinner. I'm starving."

Pansy obediently walked into the kitchen and started to cook. Her father went up to his room. This, she was grateful for. She loved having even just a few minutes on her own. Today, however, they were cut short. He father stormed into the kitchen looking even angrier than he had when he burnt his hand. 

"Did you steal from me?!" he roared before Pansy even had a chance to ask what was wrong.

"N-No!" Pansy managed to stammer.

"Well, I find that hard to believe as there is money missing from my room!" as he said this he advanced on her. 

She was not in a good position. Her father was in front of her and the sink was behind her. She was in between a rock and a hard place. She quickly recovered and managed to answer him. 

"I-I-I had to go to Diagon Alley to get my school things, remember," she said breathlessly hoping that he did remember giving her the money. 

His anger seemed to decrease as he simply said, "Well then just give me whatever was left."

Pansy panicked. There had been no money left. She had to spend it all. Now she was in for it and she knew it. "There is none left. I had to use it all," she whispered.

"Bitch!" he yelled as he slapped her across the face. She felt each finger hit her face and each one hurt more than the last. "All you know how to do is be a pain in my ass and spend my money! Do you enjoy being like her!" he roared as he towered over her. 

"No!"

"Well, then stop acting like it or I will do something about it!" As he said this he grabbed the knife that Pansy had been using to peel potatoes and held it to her throat as he pulled her head back by her ponytail. "Understand?" he said in a deadly whisper. 

Pansy, afraid to nod because the knife would cut her, said, "Yes, sir." Then he let her go.

"Get out of my sight."

There was no need to tell her twice. She ran into her room and performed every locking spell known to wizard-kind, or at least the ones that she had learned. Then she sat on her bed and cried for a long time. Every time her father hit her, it hurt more than the one before. She thought she could get used to it, but she couldn't. Who on earth could get used to their father hitting them? As she lay in her bed crying she gasped in between sobs, "Two more days, just to more days, hold on." She didn't even feel the bruise that was forming on her lower back from being slammed into the sink.

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How's that for a first chapter? AWWWW!!! Poor Pansy, I know. A lot of stories make her mean so I just thought I'd give her a reason to be mean. Who knows maybe she'll change *wink, wink*. This is pretty much a Pansy/Harry fic. I'm not really a H/P shipper (I luv D/Hm fics! J) but this story seemed like a really good idea. Let me know what you think. You can email me at Jarie1019@yahoo.com.  Please read and review! I would love reviews. Did I mention I like reviews? Just making sure. One last thing…review!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	2. Encounters

I'm back! I'll do a little less talking now. Just wanted to say thanks if you're reading this! 

Disclaimer: Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. Wish I may, wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight: *screws up eyes in concentration* I wish I owned Harry Potter! *Runs inside and checks fifth book* Damn, he's still dead; I guess I still don't own it. *shrugs*

There might be spoilers in here from all of the books. I might put one in and not realize it. You have been warned. Enjoy!

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Chapter 2

 At last the day that she's been waiting for has come. It is finally September the first. Pansy couldn't be happier. She could finally get out of the hellhole she used to call a home. She didn't know how but she vowed to somehow find a way to not have to come back home when school was over. She would give anything not to have to go back there, anything. (Remember that.)

As she walked through the platform all of her worries seemed to slip away. Her father would not be able to hurt her now. As much as she despised Dumbledore, Pansy knew that he would never let anything happen to the students in his precious school. Although, he had not done the best job so far, she thought. Then she briefly remembered the time in second year when a bunch of people turned up petrified, and in third year when the crazed Sirius Black had managed to get into Hogwarts. 

Smiling slightly, she looked around for a familiar face. Her eyes landed at once on a blonde haired seventeen year old. She admired him from afar thinking how a silly little sport like Quidditch could have such an affect on a body. He was wearing a tight fitting black sweater and Pansy could make out his well toned abs and biceps. She wanted to take his sight all in before she went to say hello. 

Draco had spotted Pansy staring at him. *Shit, she saw me before I could get on the train. Now I have to deal with her and her annoying giggling. I swear if she so much as thinks about looking at me all googley-eyed, I'll punch her.* Just as he finished thinking this, he saw Pansy wave and start to come over. *Here we go again,* he thought miserably.

"Hello, Draco. How was your summer?"

At first he didn't know what to say. This was not the way she usually greeted him. Not that he was complaining because she usually threw herself at him and called him things like "Drakey-Wakey." 

Being so good at hiding his emotions, he recovered quickly and said, "Not bad, the usual boring shit. We vacationed in France. How about you?" he finished still a little surprised. 

"Oh, um, you know same here." 

Draco was surprised to here her answer in what sounded like a mature voice. He was so used to the baby voices she used around him that she thought were sexy but were really just annoying. Then he took the time to give her the once-over and he saw that she had changed physically as well. She was a little taller which made her look more in proportion. Her facial features had also matured and showed defined cheek bones. Her lips were fuller and shone because of her gloss. He looked at what she was wearing, a pink strapless shirt and some low ride hip huggers with matching sandals, and thought that maybe muggle clothes weren't that bad after all. What surprised him the most was that she didn't look slutty, she looked nice, which was a word he wouldn't normally have associated with Pansy. 

Pansy noticed what he was doing and smiled. She was getting happier by the minute. "You're staring you know?"

He looked up and saw her looking back at him with a different kind of smirk that she didn't usually wear. In fact, it wasn't a smirk at all, but a smile. "Why are you so happy?" he said kind of annoyed at being caught staring.

"I'm just glad to be back here and away from home. It's our last year and I want to enjoy it."

Draco just nodded and motioned her to walk in front of him. As she walked he placed his hand on the small of her back. He was a Malfoy after all and their instinct was to be gentlemen, to purebloods anyway. But when he placed his hand on her back he noticed that she winced slightly and pulled away so that his hand wasn't touching her back anymore. "What's wrong with you?" he asked. 

"Nothing, you just surprised me, that's all." 

"That's bullshit. I always do that. You should have seen it coming. And why do you have your hair in a bun? You always wear it down." Then he reached and pulled out the stick that was holding up her messy bun. Her hair cascaded down her back and shoulders.

Pansy looked around nervously, afraid that her father might see, and then she remembered that he wasn't there. "Well I didn't see it coming and I don't wear it down anymore," she snapped in a manner she reserved for when she was teasing the golden trio. She was angry that she had to remember what had happened those few days ago and she was annoyed that it was Draco, the person she wanted to see the most, that had made her remember.

Draco, however, let his temper get the best of him and grabbed her wrist. "Don't talk to me like that again," he said in a whisper that rivaled her father's. 

This made Pansy's eyes swell with instant tears and she half ran away from Draco and onto the train. She couldn't believe that the only person she liked in the whole of Hogwarts had to remind her of the one person she truly hated: her father. Even though he wasn't here, he might as well have been. If she wasn't careful, Draco would take over where her father left off. 

She walked up and down the trains looking for an empty compartment. She was on the verge of tears and she didn't want anyone to see her crying. She had never allowed her father the satisfaction, and she wouldn't give it to anyone else either. She walked to the very end of the train and found that the only empty compartment was right next to the compartment where the golden trio was. She decided that this was better than sharing a compartment with an angry Draco and went inside. Once she was inside she just let go. Everything her father had ever did to her came back to haunt her full force. She remembered every slap, every punch and every kick as if they were happening right now. She felt like she had been crying for hours, and she certainly looked it, but it had only been about a minute. She tried to calm herself so that she could at least breathe properly, but it didn't work. She got used to the idea that she would be crying for the entire train ride and decided to just look out the window, tears still streaming freely.

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The people in the compartment next door had no idea what was going on next door to them. They were simply chatting merrily about their summers. Well, two of them were chatting merrily. The other one, a seventeen year old with jet-black hair and emerald green eyes, was listening enviously. 

"My parents took me on vacation to America," Hermione was saying. "It was extremely interesting. They have so much history. Dumbledore gave us directions on how to get to the nearest wizarding village in case I had to buy something. It was so fascinating. If you think Diagon Alley is well hidden, you haven't seen anything."

Then it was Ron who spoke. "Bill and Charlie came home for the summer. They took their vacation at the same time so that the whole family could be together. I spent almost the whole summer training on how to be a better keeper. Bill helped me, and boy do I have some battle wounds from where the quaffle hit me about a million times." He pulled down the collar of his shirt and the faintest signs of bruises were visible. "Believe me; he didn't go easy on me. Gryffindor will be unstoppable this year," he finished with a smile. 

Then they both looked at Harry expectantly, and his temper flared. "Well let's see," he began sarcastically, "First the Durselys apologized for treating me like shit for the past sixteen years. Then they told me that they loved me and were going to adopt me. What do you guys think happened? I was bloody miserable the entire time!"

"Blimey, mate. We're sorry. We should've known." Then Ron took Hermione's hand and patted it softly. "You're the smart one. You should've seen that coming. You know how touchy Harry is about s-u-m-m-e-r vacation." Hermione smiled. Even Harry found it funny. He loved to see Ron and Hermione together. Last year Ron had finally gotten up the guts to ask Hermione out and she accepted. Now they couldn't be happier. 

"Sorry, Harry," said Hermione still smiling. "Why don't you tell us what happened."

"Okay. Sorry for snapping. It's just that the Dursleys are horrible slimy gits. I don't know who I hate more them or Malfoy."

Ron looked thunderstruck. "Malfoy, no contest."

"You don't know the Dursleys. I think this summer was the worst of all. First I got a letter from Dumbledore saying that it was not safe for me to leave the Dursley's house unless I was with them. He said that he had received information that Voldemort would be waiting for me the second I left the house." Hermione put her hand over her mouth and Harry continued. "So I was stuck with the Dursleys all summer in that wretched house. Every morning they would make me make breakfast, then clean the dishes, then clean the house. My Aunt was on housework vacation. I couldn't use magic to do it because Uncle Vernon threatened to chuck me out if I did. I couldn't tell them what Dumbledore said because then they would chuck me out faster and probably sic Voldemort after me. So basically, I was a house elf all summer. I don't know how much more verbal abuse I can take before I crack." He finished with a sigh. Ron looked as outraged as Hermione sounded.

"How can they treat you that way, you're family."

"Ha, like that matters to them," Harry said grimly. "I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be back." Then he left the compartment.

As he slid closed the compartment door he thought he heard someone crying. He didn't have to look far force the source. He looked into the compartment next to his and saw a girl crying. She was facing the window so he couldn't see her face, but he saw her long blonde hair on her back. He felt bad and wanted to know if there was anything he could do. He slid open the door and walked in. Pansy didn't hear the door open because of her sobs. So when she heard a voice it made her start. 

"Are you okay?" he said.

Pansy turned around and saw the last person she wanted to catch her crying. "Potter!" she shrieked. 

"Pansy?" he said disbelievingly. She was the last person he expected and he turned to leave the compartment because he didn't feel like an argument right now.

"Potter, wait!" Harry was surprised and stopped. The tears still streaming down her face didn't hide the anger in her eyes. "If you tell anyone what you saw I'll curse you into oblivion."

"Fine," Harry said, a little perturbed that he had wasted his energy caring what was wrong with her in the first place. But as he left the compartment he couldn't help but wonder what could possibly have Pansy Parkinson so sad, and against his better judgment, he still felt bad. He forgot all about having to go to the bathroom and headed straight back for his compartment to tell Ron and Hermione what had just happened. After all he really wasn't worried that Pansy would curse him at all, let alone into oblivion.

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So how was that? Seems kind of short. I'll try to make it longer next time. Thanks again for reading. If you've seen my bio, you know what I love…… reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews. You can ever tell me if it sucks! Just be gentle about it. Thanks again! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, email me at  Jarie1019@yahoo.com.  See ya next time!


	3. Bad Dream

Hey! I'm finally back! I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long but I was on winter vacation. But now I can update frequently. I hope you enjoy.

~*~ Much credit to cathyhb for some of the ideas in my plot, be sure to check out her stories if you're a D/Hm shipper. They're Grrreeaaat!

Disclaimer: It's a new year but nothing has changed…I don't own anything and that's that. 

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 Chapter 3

"I know it's Pansy and I know I shouldn't care, but I think I actually feel bad for her," Harry had just finished telling Ron and Hermione what had happened in the compartment next door.

"Blimey, mate, don't waste your time. I mean, after all it's _Pansy_," said Ron as he draped his arm casually over Hermione's shoulders. 

For a second Harry forgot about Pansy because he felt the stab of a different emotion that was not pity, it was jealously. He wasn't jealous that Ron was with Hermione because after all he didn't see her that way. He was more jealous of what they had: love. This was something that he had never had. After all, his parents had been murdered when he was one and the Dursley's were far from a loving family. He snapped back to realitiy when he heard Hermione speak.

"Yeah Harry, she's as bad as Malfoy. All they've done for six years is make our lives a living hell. Why should you care?"

"Yeah, you're both right," said Harry defeated. "But still," he plowed on, "call me nosy if you want, but what could possibly have Pansy so miserable, I mean you should have seen her."

"You're right Harry…you are nosy," said Hermione. "Just forget about it, it's none of our business." Hermione then looked at her watch. "Ron, it's just about time for the Prefects meeting, we should get going," she said sweetly. "You'll be alright, Harry?"

"Yeah, of course," he said convincingly. "You guys go ahead, don't worry about me."

Ron and Hermione left the compartment and left Harry alone to think some more about how miserable his life was at the moment. Voldemort was now almost at the height of his powers and Harry knew the only place he would be safe is at Hogwarts with Dumbledore. Still he worried, though he let no one actually see. He was very clam  and collected on the surface. Then something interrupted his thoughts, Ron and Hermione walking out of the compartment hand in hand. He couldn't help but wonder if he would ever have that. Most of the girls at Hogwarts spent their years thinking that Harry was either the heir of Slytherin or that he was crazy and dilusional for making stories up about Voldemort coming back. Then everyone found out that he had been telling the truth all along. This should have helped, but now instead many people were afraid to get too close to him for fear they might be considered his ally and therefore a possible target. Harry just kept having miserable thought after miserable thought. Then a different picture came into his mind, Pansy…crying. Despite what Ron and Hermione had said he still felt a little bad. Then he found himself metally arguing with himself. 

'I wish I knew what was wrong with her.'

'Why? She hates you and you should be doing the same.'

'I know but-

'But nothing. Does she have to live with people that hate her and treat her like a house elf?'

'No, but nobody's life is perfect.'

'Nobody's life is perfect but I'll bet hers is as close as it gets. It's not like she has someone after her who wants to cause her serious bodily damage like, oh say……death!'

"Yeah," he said out loud to himself. "She doesn't know what it's like." He decided to spend the rest of his time just looking out the window and imagining himself on his Firebolt snatching the snitch right out from under Malfoy's nose.

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She was furious. Of all the people who had to catch her crying, it had to be him…Harry Potter. She knew her threat was no good. She could just imagine him right now telling Weasley and the mudblood all about it. Who did he think he was? It was not his business to be spreading things around. He had no idea what she was going through. Pansy gathered her hair roughly and began to place it in a messy bun leaving a few locks of hair down to frame her face. "So what if the Dark Lord's after him. Can't he just join him and be done with it?" said Pansy out loud. 'Yeah, like that'll ever happen,'she thought. 'He'd just as soon kill himself. Hey, one can only hope.' She continued out loud, "Still, it's his own fault. What did I do to deserve-." Her thoughts were cut off when professor McGonagall's magically magnified voice rang throughout the train.

"Will the remaining prefects please report to the front of the train for the meeting. Thank you."

"Great, I forgot about the stupid meeting." Pansy took a small mirror out of her pocket and looked at herself. Her hair was okay but her eyes were somewhat red and puffy. She didn't know any spell to fix that so she dried her eyes and tried to put on a good smirk. She decided that it was convincing enough so she put on her robes and left the compartment. When she got to the front of the train she entered the compartment that had a small sign on it reading _Prefect's Meeting_. She took a breath and opened the door. Everyone turned their heads to look at the new commer. Once they saw who it was, most of them turned away except for Ron and Hermione. They didn't want to make it obvious that Harry had told them but they wanted to see if there was the slightest difference in her attitude. Pansy noticed that a few people weren't there, one of them being Draco. She opted for a seat towards the back of the room by the window. As she began to walk she noticed Hermione looking at her. She also noticed that Ron was holding her hand. 'Oh how sweet, the weasel and the mudblood,' she thought. As Pansy walked, she realized that she would have to walk right by Hermione to get to her desired seat. She might even have to brush passed her. 

As Pansy walked by she said, "Keep your mudblood on a leash, Weasel. I don't want _her_ touching my new robes, she'll get them dirty."

As she neared her seat she heard Ron say, "They're already dirty, Pansy. After all you are wearing them."

There were some poorly hidden snickers around the room. Pansy had just decided which hex to put on Ron and was halfway through pulling out her wand when the door of the compartment opened again. She reluctantly put her wand away and sat down when she saw that it was McGonagall along with the other missing prefects. Pansy couldn't help but notice that Draco still wasn't there. 

"Well, is everyone here?" she said. "Where is Mr. Malfoy," she added when she was finished looking around. "Miss Parkinson?" she added expectantly.

"I don't know where he is," said Pansy in what she hoped was a casual voice. 

McGonagall gave her a stern look which she returned with an innocent smirk. Then McGonagall placed her wand tip to her throat and said _sonorus. With her voice magically magnified once more she said, "Will Mr. Malfoy please report to the prefects meeting. Now." Several people giggled once more._

In about a minute Draco came striding in. He wore his best smirk and walked right passed everyone and sat next to Pansy. She was the only one who noticed that his robes were hastinly put on and his hair was not quite as perfect as it always was. She knew what he had been in the middle of when he received the professors message. Pansy turned to Draco and whispered, "You might want to wipe off that lipstick." Draco hastily rubbed his lips with the sleeve of his robe then smirked at Pansy.

In Pansy's opinion the meeting was too long and dull as usual. She spent the entirety of it imagining how thouroughly  she would curse Ron if she ever got him alone. Then she nearly gagged when Hermione had been made Head Girl. Pansy wasn't expecting that she, herself, would get it but she had hoped that it wouldn't be the mudblood. Surprisingly, Ron got Head Boy. Draco was outraged, and it was all Pansy could do to stop him from hexing Ron right there. The meeting took so long that by the time McGonagall said they could leave the train was just pulling into Hogsmeade station. All Pansy could think was 'Thank Merlin we're finally here.' 

She couldn't wait for the feast to be over. She was hungry and she enjoyed all of the food, but there was something she wanted more: sleep. All she wanted was to have a good nights sleep without worrying that her father would strangle her in the middle of the night. She couldn't wait to feel the soft, green, silk sheets and the comfortable pillow. She was even excited for classes to be starting the next day. 

The Slytherin common room may have seemed dark and cold to everyone else, but to Pansy it had seemed kind and inviting. She climed the stairs to her room with a genuine smile one her face. She changed into her pajamas and got into bed, thankful that she would be away from her father for a while. 

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Thirst woke her. She sat up in her bed and poured hersaelf a glass of water from the pitcher that was on the night stand next to her bed. With the first sip she took she thought it tasted a little different but she finished it anyway. Then she saw them. Someone was emerging from the shadows next to her bed with a cruel and twisted smile on their face. Then she realized who it was.

"Father! What are you doing here?"

"I came to bring you a gift," he said with that twisted grin.

"A-A gift?" she said uncertainly. "What gift?"

He motioned towards the pitcher of water then said, "It's very difficult to come by, as you can imagine, but I got it just for you, sweetheart." He twisted the word 'sweetheart' cruelly. 

Just then she felt her throat tightening. It was hard to breathe. Then it dawned on her: poison. She was dying and she knew there was nothing she could do about it. The last thing she would see was her father's evil face.

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She woke up coughing. 

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Well, that's all for now. What did you think. I hope it was okay. Just want to say thanks if you're reading this. I hope you are enjoying it. By the way……you got that it was just a dream, right??? I hope so. I'll update again soon! Caio!

P.S. I like reviews…and emails. Jarie1019@yahoo.com J 


	4. Breakfast in the Great Hall

Hey! I'm back again. i just wanted to say thanks to slytherindamian for the review. I also wanted to take a second to explain the the romance in this fic will take a while because it's not exactly easy to put Harry and Pansy together. But don't worry…there'll be plenty to keep you busy until the romance does come! 

Disclaimer: I love it, I love it, I love it…..but I don't own it.

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Chapter 4

The Great Hall was buzzing with the usual chatter over breakfast. It was to be the first day of classes. Some people were very excited, while others looked miserable. One of these people happened to be Harry Potter. Hermione and Ron had noticed that he seemed to be in a bad mood (when they finally pryed their eyes off of each) other and were now attempting to cheer him up with no great success.

"Come on , Harry. You should be excited. It's our last year here and we start classes today," said Hermione excitedly

"Not everyone is like you, Hermione," he replied moodily.

"Unfortunately," said Ron looking at Hermione with a smile on his face. Hermione giggled and put her arm around Ron's shoulders, then she began playing with his hair.

Harry felt his temper rise. A second ago they were trying to cheer him up, now they were making googley eyes at each other. He found it amazing how their attention span could get so short. He wanted to do something to get them to stop looking at each other, to get the attention back to him. Maybe he'd throw a piece of toast at them. 'No, that's too obvious,' he thought. He decided on something simple. He knew it was mean, but it annoyed him that his two best friends were ignoring him. Besides, he did not like feeling like the third wheel. 

"_Winguardium leviosa_," Harry whispered under his breath. He pointed his wand at the water goblet that was right in front of the happy couple. They were so preoccupied with each other that they didn't even notice the goblet levitating in front of them. Harry moved it closer to the edge of the table then let it drop. The goblet fell with a small crash and spilled right onto Ron and Hermione's laps. 

"OY!" Ron yelled as Hermione let out a small shriek of surprise. "Harry, what happened?" By now a few people had noticed and had started laughing. Harry felt a savage pleasure when he notice dsome people at the Slytherin table laughing loudly as well.

"I don't know," he replied innocently. "Maybe you put it too close to the edge."

"We'll have to go change before first class now, and it's potions! Snape'll kill us if we're late. He won't care if we had an excuse or not," said Ron disgruntled. 

"We won't have to go change," said Hermione calmly.

"You won't?" said Harry somewhat dissapointed. 

"No, we won't. And we won't be late for potions either. Look." Hermione pointed her wand at her now wet robes and said _calientus (A/N: FYI, I made that up)._

A red glow emmited from the wand. Seeing the puzzled look on Harry and Ron's face Hermione explained. "It's a simple heating spell. The wand produces the heat and it's just enough to dry the robes without burning them," she said matter-of-factly.

"You know 'Mione, you never cease to amaze me," said Ron with a dreamy look in his eyes. "Can you do mine next?"

"Better yet, I'll teach you," she said sweetly. 

''Mione? 'Mione?! Since when did Ron call her 'Mione?' Harry thought as his anger flared once more. Ron and Hermione were now emersed with the spell, once again leaving Harry out of it. He didn't know which emotion he felt more, anger, jealously or just plain saddness. It seemed as if they didn't need or care about him any more. Sure they tried to include him, but their attention span had deminished to that of a two year olds. Harry got up from the table. He couldn't take it any more. He decided to go back to the common room and wait until the first class there. They didn't even notice him leave, and Harry left the Great Hall wishing hard that he _had thrown that piece of toast._

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Pansy woke feeling very depressed. After her nightmare she had barely been able to get any sleep. Not only was she tired, but she was also angry. 'I can't even get away from him here!' she thought miserably. She had waited for her roommates to leave the room before she got up. She looked at the water pitcher next to her bed and decided it was better if she dumped it out and got some more water later. 

'Shit! Now he's made me paranoid. It was just a dream, Pansy. Get over it. Besides he wouldn't really-

"Yes he would," she said wearily aloud, interrupting her thoughts. "He definitely would." Then she remembered just a few days ago he had a knife to her throat. 

After a nice, long and relaxing warm shower and liberal amounts of make-up under her eyes to hide the bags, Pansy felt she looked as good as she would get. She wrestled mentally with herself before finally deciding to leave her hair down. She had to remind herself that her father was not there and she was free to look how she pleased. After her internal battle she was ready and she proceeded to the Great Hall for breakfast. 

When she walked in her spirits were lifted. This is how she thought it should be; everyone talking about the classes they were to have that day as the ate merrily. Most of them probably didn't have a care in the world and she wished she was one of them. She walked over to the Slytherin table and sat with her usual gang of girls. They sat with their backs to the rest of the Hall and they were sitting across from Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. Pansy ate quietly as everyone else talked. She didn't want to talk. She wanted to take it all in. The breakfast was one of the best she had ever tasted. However, if you asked anyone else they would say it tasted the same, but not Pansy. She was enjoying every minute away from her father more than the last. She was so happy that everything was better. The food was better, the Hall looked brighter, even people's jokes seemed funnier. She even didn't mind that their first class was potions, despite the fact that she wasn't the best at it and the had it with the Gryffindors as usual. The only thing that distracted Pansy from her wonderful meal was Weasley yelling for no apparent reason. Her and her friends turned to see what all the commotion was about. All she saw was a water goblet on the floor and a few people pointing and laughing and she figured one of them must have knocked it down. She also stole a glance at Potter, whose face seemed distant and indifferent. In other words he didn't care. She turned around to face her friends and said, "You know, he really needs to train his little mudblood better. Then perhaps she wouldn't be so clumsy." Everyone laughed which only made Pansy feel more happy. She didn't think it could get any better until Draco pointed something out. Potter was crossing the Great Hall and was headed towards the doors. What was surprising was that he was alone. Granger and Weasley weren't with him. 

"Looks like the golden trio is now a golden duo," said Pansy happily. 

"And Potty is the third wheel," sneered Draco. 

Pansy got up quickly. "Where are you going?" asked one of Pansy's friends.

"To see if I can get an insult or two in before potions," she replied smiling devilishly. Everyone laughed. "I'll show him to talk about things he doesn't understand," she whispered to herself as she walked.

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"The nerve of them. How can they just- they're just- aaarrgghh!" Harry vented out his feelings in front of the marble staircase unaware that some one was listening just behind the doors of the Great Hall.

"They're just what, Potty?" said a voice from behind the doors which made Harry start. He turned around and for a moment was too surprised to say anything.

"P-Pansy?" he finally croaked out. "What're you-

"You were about to insult your friends I believe. Please continue, I could use a good laugh." 

"Pansy, just leave." The anger in his voice was apparent. "You don't know-

"Oh, but I do know what's going on. What's the matter? Am I making you angry?" she said threatiningly. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it your so-called friends who made you angry first? What, don't like being the third wheel?" The amount of pleasure Pansy was getting out of this was almost palpable. She had a sweet smile on her face but her tone was anything but sweet. She loved pushing his buttons and was pushing all the right ones. "Give it a little time, Potter and they won't even remember your name. You better start looking for new sidekicks. How about ones that are actually useful."

Harry was almost shaking with rage and Pansy could see it. Harry thought it amazing how it was the first day and he was already as angry as he could get. It was taking every once of will power he had not to curse Pansy. He could not believe that he had actually felt sorry for her just the day before. When he spoke again it was in a deadly whisper, "Pansy…just…leave or else."

His whisper had made her flinch and had sent a shiver down her spine, as her father's always did. This, however, made Pansy even  more determined to make Harry miserable. The one person she hated more than Harry was her father and he had just reminded her of him. He would pay.

"Or else what?" she said her voice now a whisper. But even the whisper could not hide the anger.

Harry had had it. He had finally cracked. He pulled out his wand so fast that Pansy barely had time to react. "Leave…now!" he said again.

'He's going to curse me. He's really going to do it,' she thought frantically. Then her other side argued, 'Your lucky if he doesn't kill you. Don't just stand there, take out your wand!' Pansy quickly drew her own wand. 

Harry couldn't believe it. She must be crazy to think about dueling with him. That had to be it: she had lost her mind over the summer. That was the only explanation. The both stood there, wands raised. Then Harry decided on the perfect spell. It would make Pansy's nose swollen and green and make her face sprout tiny purple tentacles all over it. Harry settled on this one because it lasted at least three days. Pansy saw the anger and determination in Harry's eyes and suddenly a wave of dread spred over her. If she dueled with him she would definitely lose, she knew this. So what on earth had she been thinking? Harry opened his mouth and Pansy's eyes widened as she thought, 'He's going to do it!'

"Sa-," Harry started but was cut off by the doors of the Great Hall opening. He certainly did not want to get caught hexing a prefect in front of the teachers so he haistily put his wand away. Pansy was a little slower on the uptake and didn't have Harry's reflexes. A few people saw her standing there with her wand out for what seemed like no reason before she finally realized how stupid she must look and put it away. 

The two exchanged one last glare before walking away in opposite directions. After all, there _was_ more than one way to get to the dungeons .

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So, how was that? I hope you liked it. I tried to make it longer than the last chapter. I think I succeeded. I just want to say thanks again to slytherindamian for reviewing. I hope you do it again soon. I really like reviews…and emails too. Jarie1019@yahoo.com 


	5. Problems in Potions and Another Dream

I'm back again… but I won't say much, just thanks for reading and please review or email if you like it…or if you don't! This chapter might be kind of short but I'll certainly try my best!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot… unless of course it's been done before!

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Chapter 5

'Who the hell does she think she is!' thought an enraged Harry as he stomped his way down to the dungeons for the first class of the year: potions. He was still fuming from his encounter with Pansy in front of the Great Hall a few minutes before. 'She's just lucky that those people came out of the Hall when they did. If I ever get her alone… she'll be in trouble.' His internal rantings had brought him to the door of his potions class without him even realizing it. He waited outside the door for a few seconds hoping that his anger would subside. The last thing he needed was to go off on Snape and lose points for Gryffindor or worse get detention. He took a deep breath and opened the door to walk in. 

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She made her way through the crowds of students to make her way to the dungeons for potions. She didn't know which emotion she felt more, anger or relief. If those people hadn't come out of the Great Hall when they did, there's no telling what would have happened. 'I probably would've ended up in the hospital wing, that's what would have happened. How dare he threaten me. He'll pay,' thought Pansy as she neared the potions classroom. She stopped just before to collect herself mentally, then she stepped inside. She was quite pleased to see that Harry had not arrived yet. Then she remembered, 'That's right, he took the long way! Idiot,' she thought happily. 'I hope he's late. Snape'll murder him.' Pansy turned to look at Ron and Hermione. They were emersed in a deep conversation. Hermione looked worried so Pansy figured they were talking about Harry. She vaguely wondered if the even noticed him leaving the Great Hall. Just then the door opened and Snape walked in. Everyone fell silent at once. A small smile crept on Pansy's face. Even though there were still a few minutes until class officially started, Snape would be livid that Harry got there after he did. 

Snape looked around. A small sneer crept across his own face, much like Pansy's. "And where, might I ask is Mr. Potter?" As if on cue Harry came walking in. he looked at no one and just went straight to his usual seat at the back of the dungeon next to Ron and Hermione. However, instead of sitting next to them, he sat in between them. The looked slightly confused but said nothing. 'Maybe they'll notice me if I'm keeping them apart,' he thought cruelly, 'Serves them right.' 

"Now that Mr. Potter has decided to grace us with his presence, we shall begin. Oh, and by the way, five points from Gryffindor. I shall expect my students, at least the competant ones, to arrive here before I do so that when I do arrive we can begin…with no interuptions," said Snape, glaring at Harry. Harry tried to pretend like he didn't here what Snape had said, but he was so angry that there was a funny ringing in his ears. "Now, I want to inform you all that for the first few weeks of this class you will be working with partners. You will work with the same person for one week and then you will switch. We will keep doing this until everyone has been partnered with everyone." One look around the class would tell you that no one was happy. The entire class looked mutinous, including the Slytherins who usually adore Snape. One of the students quickly raised their hands. 

"Excuse me Professor, but we only have to partner once with everyone from our own house right?" asked Malfoy hopefully. 

"No, Mr. Malfoy. You will partner once with everyone in the class. There will be _no_ exceptions. Do I make myself clear?" replied Snape. He took the silence as a yes.

The same thought was racing through every student's mind: we have to work with one of _them_?! But perhaps the four student who were most outraged were Harry, Ron Hermione and Pansy. Ron and Hermione couldn't stand the thought of working with any one but each other, Harry couldn't stand the thought of working with Pansy and Draco, and Pansy would just as rather shave her head than have to work with Harry. However, Pansy unlike the other three thought of marvolous possibilities. 'I could ruin the potion and blame it on him!' she thought excitedly. She thought perhaps it would all be a waist of time. 

Snape continued, "Listen carefully because I will be calling out the names of the parings for this week: Malfoy and Longbottom (Neville looked like he wanted to cry), Weasley and Goyle (Ron let out a very audible groan), Finnigan and Crabbe, Granger and Blustrode (Hermione looked rather frightened but determined all the same, nothing would get in the way of her getting a perfect score), Potter and- both Harry and Pansy waited for the worst- Parkinson. Both of their fears had been confirmed. Snape continued on without a care in the world. Harry could have killed Snape right there, but thought it a bad idea. Pansy, however, placed and evil grin on her face and turned to look at Harry. They locked eyes for a moment and the hatred between them was thicker than the air, so thick you coul choke on it. Harry thought he actually might. He decided to send Pansy a silent warning. He reached inside his robes and casually pulled out his wand. He began twirling it in his fingers as he looked at Pansy. She got the message loud and clear and turned back around in her seat. 

Snape's voice rang through the dungeon once more. "Now that you have all been partnered you will sit with you partner for the remainder of the week and work on the potion. Today we will be doing preparatory work. First you will take notes then you will set up your cauldrons. Well, what are you waiting for? Sit next to your partners!" Everyone grudgingly did as they were told. Ron and Hermione were acting as though they were never going to see each other again and it made Harry sick. He almost wished he didn't have to partner either of them. Then again, he thought, it would be better than partnering Pansy. 'Not by much,' he thought. He went to sit next to Pansy. He never looked at her once. He simply sat, took out some parchment and began listening intently to Snape. 

"Now, the first thing I must tell you is the potion you will be making. It will be a potion that will allow you to see a persons most recent memories," said Snape cruelly. It is quite complex and will take the entire week to brew. Now listen carefully, we will be working with a few dangerous ingredients over the next few weeks. One of those ingredients we will be using tomorrow. The ingredient is ground dragon fangs and it is highly dangerous. You will need to measure it out almost exactly for your potion to be successful. If you put too little you will have top begin the potion from scratch. However, if you put too much the results could be deadly. Your potion could either explode in your face or cause the person who drinks it to become dilusional. All the would see are memories instead of what is happining right in front of them. I cannot stress the importance of paying direct attention to the notes I am about to put on the board." With a flick of his wrist, Snape had put the ingredients and the procedure of the potion on the board. Everyone began to take down exactly what they were. No one wanted to mess this up, no one except for Pansy. She already had a plan forming. Taking down the notes took the rest of the class. With a few minutes to go, Snape added one last thing. "Professor Dumbledore thinks me a competant enough teacher to give you students this potion and the ones to follow. Do not prove him wrong. When you are finished you are dismissed."

Everyone made sure that they had gotten the notes word for word before they left. After class the Gryffindors went to Herbology while the Slytherins went to Transfiguration. The rest of the day went by without incidents. Unless you count Harry and Pansy glaring at each other from across the Great Hall at lunch and dinner. For the rest of the day Harry made sure he was not alone while Pansy was around. He was afraid of what he might do to her. When he went to bed that night, he still could not believe that he had waisted his time caring about her or her problems. 'Whatever it was, I'm sure she deserved it,' he thought. He fell asleep seeing Pansy's crying face in his mind.

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He found himself in the Great Hall looking for a snack. He wondered why he didn't just go to the kitchen. He looked around and found all of the tables empty. Then he saw someone else come through the doors. Someone in green silk pajamas that had blonde hair. She was crying. He wanted to help whoever it was. When he moved closer and saw who it was, he was shocked. 

"Pansy?!" he cried in disbelief. Her tears seemed to be never ending. Her pajamas were wet with them. How long had she been crying? Then, in a split second she had changed. She was in her school uniform and she was no longer crying, but smirking instead. 

"What's the matter Potty, did your friends leave you all alone…again?" she was smiling wickedly, and Harry felt all of his sympathy disappear. He wanted to hurt Pansy, hurt her so she would feel what he felt. 

His wand was in his hand. He didn't know how it got there and he didn't care. He raised it. He remembered the words of an enemy, "You have to really mean it. You have to want to cause pain. You have to enjoy it." He focused all of the anger he had ever felt. "CRUCIO!" he yelled. Pansy's sceams filled the Hall and echoed horribly off the walls. Harry was smiling and yelling at the same time, "NOW YOU KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE!" he lowered his wand and walked over to Pansy. She was in her pajamas again and crying harder than ever.

She looked up at Harry. "Why…father?" was all she whispered before she passed out.

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He woke. He felt awful. He hated Pansy, but not that much. Was he really capable of that? And why did she call him "father"?

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That's all folks! I told you it was short. But it was okay…right? Let me know. You know the drill…reviews…emails…whatever. Caio! C U next time!


	6. Was it really a dream?

Hey, I'm back. Hope you like this chapter!

Disclaimer: I think you know the drill by now.

A/N: Sorry if this is kinda short but I figure it's better than nothing!

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Chapter 6

She woke up on the floor in a tangle of green silk sheets. She had a slight headache and her body was a little sore, so she figured it was from falling out of bed. The first thing she could think was, 'What the hell was that?!' She had had this dream many times over the summer but this time it was very different. First of all, it was usually her father doing the torturing in the dream, and sometimes in real life too. Secondly, she had never woken up from the dream sore before. She tried not to think about it too much because after all it was just a dream, right? However, she couldn't help feel like something was different this time. What it was she didn't know. 

She got up from the floor and looked around. Her roommates must not have heard her fall or must not have cared because they were all fast asleep. When she looked out of the window she saw that it was still dark. It couldn't have been later than six in the morning. She figured since she was up she should get ready. Maybe a nice warm bath would help her relax and ease her sore muscles. But, while she was in the shower she couldn't help remember the dream. It seemed so real, more like a memory. Then her thoughts wandered to her 'attacker'. 'Would he really do that to me?' she thought to herself. 'Of course he would. You've done nothing but treat him like shit for the passed six years, what would you expect, a hug?' Then her thoughts immediately shifted to the plan she had had for ruining the potion. Her original plan was to add to much dragon fang and have the potion explode. Now she thought it wasn't such a good idea. After all, what is she got hurt? So, she decided to go with adding too little so that they would have to start all over again. Of course, she would blame it on Harry. She hesitated for a moment. 'Do I really want to make him angry?' she thought. 'Well, he deserves it for reminding me of _him, doesn't he?' Pansy was furious that she now had to constantly watch her back because of Harry. She still wanted to tease and torment him but she would have to make sure that she wasn't alone when she did it. She did not want her nightmare to become a reality. What she didn't know was that it already had. _

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He woke. He felt awful. He hated Pansy but not that much. Was he really capable of something lie that? And why did she call him "father"? Harry was the most confused that he had been in a long time. He had no idea why he would dream something like. That. In fact, it wasn't even a dream…it was a nightmare. Harry hated Pansy, sure, but he would never seriously hurt her, would he? 'Of course I wouldn't,' he thought stubbornly. Still, he made a mental note to never be alone when dealing with Pansy. If he was capable of hurting her, he wanted to avoid it. 'That'll be hard since she's always provoking me,' he thought as he sat up in bed. He looked out the window and saw that it was still dark. It couldn't have been later than six in the morning. He was covered in sweat as if he had run a long distance, and his feet were cold as if he had been walking barefoot on the cold stone floor. If he hadn't been so preoccupied with the dream, he would have noticed these things. He also would have noticed that his wand was in his bed instead of in his nightstand where he usually kept it. He decided to take an early shower. 

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During breakfast that morning, Ron and Hermione noticed that Harry seemed distanced and worried about something. They wanted to find out what, but their interest in each other limited their interest in the conversation that they had started with Harry, which thoroughly annoyed Harry. 

"Harry, is something wrong?" asked Hermione absent mindedly while feeding Ron a piece of toast. 

Harry couldn't help but think 'I hope he chokes on it,' before mumbling "no". 

"Come on, Harry. We know there's something wrong. Why don't you tell us?" Ron had managed to say through a mouthful of toast. 

"Maybe because I don't think you'd care!" he said a little louder than he had intended. His anger was starting to rise. He marveled at how easily he got very upset these days. 

Hermione frowned and stopped feeding Ron. "Of course we care. Why would you think that?"

"Gee, I don't know," said Harry his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Maybe because you two don't seem to care much about anything besides yourselves anymore. I mean, yesterday in potions you two nearly cried when you didn't get partnered. You acted like you were never going to see each other again when your in the same fucking class! Not to mention the same house! You know what, the truth is you guys make me sick with all your lovey-dovey shit. I can't stand it. So either stop it around me, or just stay away from me! Got it?" He had said all he wanted to say and he didn't want to see their faces right now. He didn't care that half the Hall was looking at him or that Ron and Hermione looked horrorstruck. He got up to leave. "I don't know if you care, but I'm leaving," he said savagely. "Oh and by the way," he whispered so that only Ron and Hermione could hear, "That water goblet yesterday morning… it was me." He turned and walked straight out of the hall without looking back. 

Pansy saw the whole thing from the Slytherin table and couldn't help but feel happy. She loved seeing Harry in pain and angry. She did not, however, follow him out of the hall this time. She wasn't stupid and she knew that would be suicide. Instead she concentrated on her plan for their upcoming potions class. 

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They had potions at the end of the day and for all of the people in the class, the end of the day came too soon, way too soon. Everyone was dreading having to work with someone from the opposite house. The door to the dungeon class room was locked and the whole class waited outside for their professor. The Slytherins were on one side of the hallway and the Gryffindors were on the other. When Harry arrived there he could already hear Malfoy's furious rants about having to work with Neville. 

"I can't believe Snape is making me work with that idiot," he raved. "Doesn't he know how stupid Longbottom is? Snape obviously wants the entire classroom blown up." All the Slytherins laughed while Neville turned a bright shade of pink. 

Harry was the first Gryffindor to speak up. "Neville's the one who should be complaining Malfoy. I know I will be when I have to work with any of you assholes. Oh, that's right, I already have to work with one," said Harry eyeing Pansy. It was the Gryffindor's turn to laugh.

Pansy was furious. She walked to the front of the group and said, "Take that back, Potter," while she took out her wand. She wasn't afraid to take on Harry with the rest of her house backing her. 

"What are you gonna do, Pansy, _try to curse me? I can already guarantee that you won't," said Harry almost laughing at his challenger. _

"_Stupefy_!" Pansy yelled, she had had enough of him and his arrogance. 

Harry saw this coming. "_Protego," he said almost lazily and the spell was deflected and hit the wall. "Better luck next time," he said as he pointed over her shoulder. _

All the Slytherins turned around and saw Snape coming down the hallway. When he reached the door he unlocked it and everyone went in and sat next to their partners. Snape's only word was "begin." Everyone took out their notes and started the potion. About halfway through, Hermione raised her hand to ask a question.

"Excuse me Professor, but I was wondering… you said that the potion will let you see the other person's most recent memories, does that include dreams?"

"Miss Granger, if you were as competent as some teachers thought you were you would know that the answer to that question is no. Since dreams are not real, they are not considered memories. Memories are things that have actually happened, so everything that you will see, if you manage to make the potion correctly, will have really happened. I should mention that by recent memories I mean what has happened in the last twenty four to forty eight hours." After this there were no more questions. The final ingredient, dragon fang, was given to the students pre-measured. Snape told the class that he had changed his mind and had decided to measure it for them so that there would be no accidents. When Harry and Pansy received their dragon fang, Pansy put her plan into action. 

Before Harry could put the ingredient in Pansy said, in what she was sure was a loud voice, "Are you sure we have enough, Potter? Their bag looks like it has more." She pointed at Malfoy and Neville's bag. 

"I'm sure it's fine since Professor Snape measured them all," said Harry through gritted teeth, trying to ignore how much Pansy's voice annoyed him. 

"Let me see," she said as she snatched the bag out of his hand. "Well, I still think we need more." Just as Pansy was about to dump some out of the bag so that they really had less, Snape walked to the side of her and said, "Miss Parkinson, I can assure you that I am quite capable of measuring ingredients correctly, now kindly just add the ingredient." Grudgingly, Pansy did as she was told. 'Shit! Now the potion will work.' Then the first real worry came into Pansy mind. 'He'll be able to see my memories. This is not good. What if he sees something about father?' As if reading Pansy's mind, the same fear crept into Harry's mind. 'Damn Snape for making us do this. I swear he gets off on making us fucking miserable. She better not see anything important.'

With five minutes left to go Snape gave the final instructions. "Now, if you all read your notes you will notice that the potion needs to brew for the remainder of the week. Therefore, for the rest of the week you will spend your time writing me an essay about the many different way this potion can go wrong and also why is this a useful potion. You are dismissed."

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Harry and Pansy had no idea what memories they would unlock when they took the potion. They were both worried that the other would see something private. The rest of the class also shared their fears. However, no ones memories would affect them the way Harry and Pansy's would. 

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That's all folks! I promise the next one will be longer. If you have questions, comments, ideas, whatever…email me at jarie1019@yahoo.com. I would also LOVE reviews!


	7. The Potion

I'm back again and I'll get right into it! I hope you like this chapter…I think it'll be a good one!

Disclaimer: You know the drill be now…and if you don't….what's wrong with you!

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Chapter 7

The night flew by, the morning ran too. It was going by too fast for those who had potions to brew. 'Potions' was the word one the tip of everyone's tongue the next morning. Everyone was dreading the end of the week when their most intimate memories might be revealed to someone from the house that they loathed. The only good thing anyone could possibly think could come out of this information was blackmail material. However, everyone got a nasty shock when they walked into potions class and Snape told them that they would be drinking the potion that day. There was almost a riot. 

"But Professor, I thought you said the potion took a week to brew," said Malfoy thoroughly annoyed. 

"Well, Mr. Malfoy, I was under the impression that you all would make a mess of such a complicated potion. The truth is it takes a week to brew if you have done something wrong. Now as surprised as I am to say it, you all managed to do it right. Let me personally congratulate you, Mr. Malfoy, for doing so with such an incompetent partner." Snape comment made Neville blush and Malfoy snigger. "Now listen carefully, first you will pour some of your potion into a vial and put your name and your partners name on it. This will be handed in to me so that I may test it. Then you will each pour some into separate vials for yourselves. Make sure you are seated before you drink the potion, as all memories are very powerful. You will both drink the potion at the same time. Once the potion is consumed you will have to make some sort of contact with your partner so that the potion will be initiated." When he saw the looks of outrage on everyone's faces he added rather impatiently, "It need only be a small tap. Now I must warn you that when you are in the other person's memory, you will not be an outsider looking on. You will be seeing the memory from your partner's point of view. And if you did the potion exceptionally well, you will be able to hear what, is being said. I urge you to remain seated afterwards because you will probably be somewhat disoriented. You may proceed when I have received the appropriate vial."

One by one the students went to Snape's desk and gave him vials full of their potions. Then they all went back to their seats dreading what was about to happen. 

When Harry returned from Snape's desk he found Pansy staring at him with a look of utmost contempt. "Let's get this over with," he whispered more to himself than to Pansy. They sat down facing each other. Pansy poured the potion into two small vials and handed one to Harry, which he snatched forcefully out of her hands nearly spilling it. Before they drank it, they both looked around to see what was happening to other students when they drank their potion. Harry's eyes landed on Hermione and Millicent Bullstrode. They were both sitting in their chairs with their eyes closed and they both looked so rigid that if you were to pull the chair out from under them they would still be in the exact same position. Harry also noticed that they had been shaking hands, that must have been the contact they chose, and they were frozen mid-handshake.  Harry was forcefully reminded of someone who had been petrified. Now that he knew what was going to happen, he turned back to Pansy who had apparently been doing the same thing. Without blinking, without taking their eyes off of each other, they drank the potion. Before Pansy even had time to argue what type of contact they should have, Harry forcefully grabbed her hand which was on her lap and gave it an unnecessary tight squeeze. 

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He was in the Great Hall, and he was wearing green silk pajamas. He was crying but he didn't know why. Then he remembered, 'I'm Pansy.' He walked further into the hall and saw someone: himself. This couldn't be. He heard himself speak, "Pansy?!" Suddenly he wasn't crying anymore, he was laughing. 

"What's the matter Potty, did your friends leave you all alone…again?" He was surprised to hear Pansy's voice coming out of him. He felt his face smiling wickedly. 

Then what he saw made his skin crawl. He saw himself angrier than he had ever been in his life. Then he only felt pain as he heard himself cry, "CRUCIO!"

He was on the floor crying and screaming in pain. "NOW YOU KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE!" he heard himself yell over the sobs. Then it was over. "Why…father?" was all Harry heard Pansy's voice say before he found himself sitting back in the potions classroom looking into Pansy's horrorstruck eyes as he held her hand. 

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She was in the Great Hall and she thought, 'What am I doing here?' before she remembered 'I'm Potter.' She turned around and saw the last person she expected: herself. She was in her pajamas and she was crying. Then she heard Harry's shocked voice come out of her mouth, "Pansy?!" 

"What's the matter Potty, did your friends leave you all alone…again?" she saw how evil she looked smiling horribly. She couldn't believe what happened next. Her arm was raised and she had her wand. "CRUCIO," Harry's voice cried from her mouth. "NOW YOU KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE!" she heard Harry's voice roar so loud she thought her vocal cords would rip. Just as soon as it started it was over. She walked over to herself, who was now lying on the floor in a crumpled heap. The pain in her eyes was unbearable. "Why…father?" was all she heard herself say before she found herself back in the potions room looking at Harry who was still holding her hand. 

Neither of them knew what had just happened. Had they just seen what they thought they saw? It couldn't have been, it was just a dream. Harry was the first to snap out of it. He quickly released Pansy's hand and looked around wildly. He looked back at Pansy who was now rubbing her hand. He couldn't make out what the look on Pansy's face was but he knew one thing: she was just as confused as he was. Harry wanted some answers. 

"Professor?" he called out loudly. "I thought you said we would only be able to see memories?"

Snape, who looked very annoyed, merely answered, "That is correct, Potter. Now if you'll excuse me I have to finish grading the potions." 

"Are you sure?" Harry went on. 

"Mr. Potter, do not question my authority as a potions master. I am telling you that what you saw is a memory that actually happened. A dream is not a memory!" said Snape loosing his patience. 

"But-

"There are no 'buts' Mr. Potter, so be quiet."

Harry didn't know what to think. It couldn't be, it just couldn't. It was a dream. That's all it was. 

'But Snape said-,' he began to argue with himself.

'Fuck, Snape. He doesn't know what he's talking about.'

'Oh, he doesn't?'

'No, he doesn't. It wasn't real. How could it be real? I wouldn't do that.'

'Are you sure?'

He didn't know what else to argue. He looked over at Pansy. She was just staring at him. She opened her mouth as if to say something but nothing came out. She couldn't find any words to describe what she wanted to say. Finally, after about five minutes of sitting in silence and watching the rest of the class come back from the memories they were in, Pansy said one word.

"How?" she whispered looking Harry directly in the eye. 

"I don't know," he whispered back. Then it dawned on him. He remembered something he had heard on television over the summer. It was the only way. Nothing else made sense. And if it really was a memory…

Pansy saw the realization hit him as his eyes widened. "What?" she whispered urgently. 

"I think I know what happened. I think we were-

"Silence," Snape yelled cutting Harry off. "Now that everyone is back from the memories, class can be dismissed. For the remainder of the week you will work with your partner on the essay to be handed in. There will only be one essay per group. In other words you have to write it _together." Snape said this last word as if it were the final nail in the coffin. "You may go."_

Everyone was in a hurry to get out of the classroom, everyone except Harry and Pansy. They both gathered their things slowly and headed towards the door. Once outside the class room Pansy turned to head to the Slytherin common room. Harry quickly grabbed her hand. She snatched it back. Harry noticed that it had a slight bruise on it; he must have been squeezing it the entire time they were in the memory. 

"Don't you want to know what happened," he said. 

"I just- I don't know."

"Meet me at the library after dinner. I think I know what happened," he repeated again with a note of urgency in his voice. 

Pansy noticed that he looked worried. She couldn't think of a possible explanation for what had happened and she wanted to hear his. "Fine," she whispered. 

"Hey, Harry!" Ron yelled. "Let's go. We're gonna be late." 

Harry looked over at Ron and yelled back, "I'll be right there." Then he turned to Pansy, "Library. After dinner." And he walked away. 

Pansy walked back to the common room thinking they had done something wrong with the potion. Harry walked to his next class hearing Ron and Hermione apologize for being such idiots. Harry decided to forgive them a little, but he was still angry at them. He realized that it was dangerous to let his anger get the better of him. What had happened between him and Pansy could _not_ happen again. 

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Do you get it? I hope so. If not the next chapter will answer all of your questions. I promise! I hope you like it. I do! I think it might be sort of confusing, but I understood it when I was writing it. Then again, that's just me. If you don't get it or if you have a question, feel free to email me. Reviews are great too. Jarie1019@yahoo.com


	8. Meeting in the Library

Next chapter.coming right up! Hope you like it.

A/N: If it's in italics, then the character is thinking. 

Disclaimer: Do I actually have to say anything.I don't own it, you know that and I know that. 

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Chapter 8

'_Wow, we really must have screwed up that potion bad_,' Pansy thought as she sat in the common room trying to finish up a transfiguration essay. '_Snape said we_ _weren't going to see dreams. But wait a minute.we had the same dream? Is that even possible?_' By now Pansy had given up hope of finishing her essay. It was almost time for dinner. 

"Hey Pansy, you coming or what?" said Draco as he headed out of the common room. Pansy put her essay away and headed out of the common room after him. 

As they were walking through the dungeons and making their way to the Great Hall Draco spoke, "Well?" he said expectantly. 

"Well what?" said Pansy confused. Her mind was on a certain green-eyed boy. 

"Which memory did you see?" he replied as thought this were obvious. "Was it anything good?"

Pansy quickly thought of a believable lie. "Oh, I didn't see anything interesting. It was stupid. It was just a memory of him flying on his broom. He was probably practicing quidditch, or something. What did you see?" she said, wanting to change the subject. 

"Oh." Said Draco looking thoroughly put out at not having any blackmail material on Harry. "All I saw was the little Weasley. Longbottom must have been staring at her the whole time in his stupid memory."

"Oooh, really? He must like her."

"That's a scary thought." 

Pansy laugh and for the first time in a while she felt like everything would be fine. Her happiness was short lived when they reached the Hall and she remembered that she had to meet a certain boy after dinner. She walked in the hall with Draco and sat down, determined not to look in the direction of the Gryffindor table.

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He saw her walk in the Hall with Draco. He wanted to catch her eye and make sure that she remembered about the meeting but she wasn't looking at him. Ron and Hermione, who were trying really hard not to be too couple-like around Harry, noticed that he was staring in the direction of the Slytherins. 

"Hey Harry, what are you looking at?" Ron asked.   

"Pansy," he said truthfully. 

"Why?" Hermione asked surprised. 

Harry wrestled for a moment about whether or not to tell them. '_Well, they are my best friends. If I can't trust them, who can I trust?_' 

Hermione saw his hesitation. "Come on Harry, you know you can tell us anything, right?"

"Alright." He started with the 'dream' and ended with what had happened in potions that morning. He didn't, however, tell them what he thought had really happened, what he had seen on the muggle news. By the time he had finished, they were both sitting there with their mouths hanging wide open. He decided to break the silence first. "Well, what do you think happened?"

"I don't know Harry. I mean, sure, you remember a dream so it's like a memory, but it didn't actually happen, and Professor Snape said we would only be able to see things that actually happened so." Hermione trailed off. 

"But don't you see Hermione, that's what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid that it actually _did_ happen." As he said this he felt his worry increase. 

"Oh, come on mate, you would never do that. Besides, don't you think Pansy would remember if you tortured her in the middle of the night?" Ron finally said.

"Not if she was sleeping too." Harry replied. 

"How could you do that and sleep at the same time," Ron asked confused. 

A small gasp from Hermione told Harry that she was now thinking what he had been thinking since this morning. "But Harry, it couldn't be. Both of you?"

"It's the only explanation."

"What's the only explanation? Both of them what?" said Ron looking from Harry to Hermione. 

"Now isn't the time to talk about it, Ron," said Hermione in her stern voice. "Do you think she'll meet you, Harry?"

"I hope so. I have to tell her." He turned around to look at the Slytherin table. He saw her eating and talking without a care in the world. He didn't want to, but he had to tell her what he knew.

Across the Hall, she felt someone staring at her. She looked up from her plate and her blue eyes met green ones. She gave him a small nod to tell him that she still remembered about their meeting and went back to her food. 

After another thirty minutes, the Hall began to empty as students returned to their common rooms. Harry decided to leave before Pansy so that he could think about what he was going to say. Before he left, Ron and Hermione wished his luck. Pansy saw him leave and remained seated for a few more minutes. Then she got up and walked out of the Hall. The walk to the library seemed to go by much quicker to Pansy than usual, probably because she really didn't want to go. '_If he knows something then you have to find out. After this, you don't have to talk to him again._' She couldn't have been more wrong. She reached the doors of the library and hesitated, and then she slowly pushed them open. She saw that it was almost completely empty, this she was grateful for. She knew that Harry wouldn't want anyone to see or hear them so she walked straight to the back of the library which was totally deserted. She began to walk in between the book shelves looking for him, when she heard someone call her name. She turned around and saw him sitting at a small table in the corner, next to the window. She sat down wishing she hadn't come. There was a minute of awkward silence before Pansy decided to speak. 

"Well Potter, what was wrong with the potion?" she asked. 

Her question took him be surprise. "Nothing was wrong with the potion."

She was becoming impatient. "Of course there was something wrong with the potion. We weren't supposed to see dreams, remember."

"Pansy, don't you think it's weird that we had the same dream?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"It has everything to do with it." She saw him take a deep breath as though he was about to say something very important and it annoyed her even more.

"Potter, do me a favor and stop acting like it's such a big deal. We screwed the potion up, who cares. We had the same dream, as weird as it was who cares. It's not like it really happened," she finished, saying this as though the very thought was laughable. 

"That's just it, Pansy, it _did_ happen."

She looked at him as though seeing him for the first time. "You know what, you're crazy. I'm leaving." She made to stand up but Harry grabbed her before she left her chair. "Let go of me."

"No, you have to listen to me. I can explain everything," he said without letting go.

"There's nothing to explain, it didn't happen. Now let go!" she said her voice starting to rise. 

"Sshhh!" Harry hissed. "Just sit down and hear me out."

She knew she should have just left, but she didn't. She sat back down and looked at Harry.

"Thank you. Now listen, I know this is going to sound crazy but it's true. I saw it on the muggle news over the summer. It's called sleepwalking. The person is technically asleep, but they walk around and do stuff and they don't know that they're doing it."

Pansy was having a hard time understanding but she listened anyway. "What kind of stuff?"

"They do a lot of different things. They might walk out of their house and into the street or they might just walk into the Great Hall because they were hungry." Harry stared at her, willing her to understand. "Come on, don't you see?" He wanted her to understand so that he wouldn't have to say it out loud. As much as he thought it was, he didn't want it to be true. 

"Wait," she said with a look of realization in her eyes. "You don't think that _we_ were." she didn't want to say it. Harry nodded. "No, it's not possible," she said starting to panic. "You wouldn't-you couldn't," she didn't know what to say. 

"I know. I'm really sorry," and he was. He wanted Pansy to forgive him. 

"You're sorry? You're _sorry_. for torturing me! How could you-," she didn't even know what to say. She wanted to hit him and hard.

"Pansy listen, I promise I won't-

SMACK! She slapped him with all the force she could gather. She hated him for taking away the only place she could have been happy. 

"You won't what.torture me again? Oh, of course you won't," she said sarcastically. "How can you promise that if you didn't even know you did it the first time?" 

Harry, far from being angry that she had hit him, felt he deserved it. What he had done to her was far worse than a slap in the face. He looked at her and saw that her anger seemed to be spent. All he saw now was sadness. 

They sat there for a while in silence, just looking at the window. Neither of them wanted to talk to the other. Then something entered Harry's mind that he had not thought about since he first woke up from the 'dream.'

"Why did you call me 'father'?" he asked curiously.

Pansy looked as though she had even forgotten he was there. "What?"

"After.you know, you called me 'father', why?"

Pansy didn't know what to say. '_Just tell him. Why so he can laugh at me. I don't think so._' "That's none of your business," she said finally. 

"Your father doesn't hurt you, does he?" It suddenly dawned on him. "Was that why you were crying on the train," he asked shocked. 

Pansy panicked. She didn't want anyone to know. She did the only thing she could think of, she lied. "No! And I said it was none of your business!" 

"Funny, that 'no' sounded a lot like 'yes,'" said Harry with a frown. 

"Well it wasn't," she said unconvincingly. She got up and this time he didn't stop her. "I don't need you to be my friend, you know. So do me a favor and tie yourself to your bed or something." Before she could stop herself she added, "I've been through enough. I don't need you trying to kill me to top it all off." Then she walked out of the library. '_Way to go; now he knows._' 

Harry walked slowly to Gryffindor tower thinking about what had just happened. He entered the common room to find Ron and Hermione kissing on the couch. He felt a stab of annoyance but no big rage. "Why don't you two get a room," he said through a yawn. The two wrenched apart. 

"Harry what hap-," Hermione began but Harry cut her off.

"I'll tell you tomorrow. Ron can you come tie me to my bed? I'll explain later," he added seeing the look on their faces.

When Ron finished, he went to bed too. Harry fell asleep imagining Pansy being tortured by her father all summer. '_Maybe she does know what its like,_' he thought before he fell asleep. 

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'_Maybe he was sorry,_' she thought before she fell asleep. 

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** Well, that's all for now. Let the romance begin! Reviews, reviews, reviews, reviews, oh and did I mention.reviews! 


	9. Drastic Measures

Time for another chapter! Yay! I'm so excited. But before I start I just wanted to clarify something. Slytherindamian pointed out that if they were sleep walking like Harry says they are "they do stuff and they don't know they are doing it" it doesn't really make sense because they both remembered it. What I meant to say is that they don't know they are doing it for _real_. So, that was my bad. I'll be more careful in the future. Thanks for pointing it out! Now let the chapter begin!

Disclaimer: Do I even have to say anything? If I owned it I'd be rich, and trust me I'm not. Everything belongs to the wonderfully talented J.K.

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Chapter 9

He woke. It took him a while to realize that he was still tied to his bed. 

"Ron. Ron!" he called sleepily.

"Huh? What?" said Ron as he too woke up. 

"Come untie me."

Ron came over and began to untie Harry. Harry noticed that the sheets they had used to keep him in bed had left marks on his arms and legs. They were still a little red which meant he had been struggling against them. Ron noticed him looking at where the marks were. 

"You were thrashing around last night. I think you were trying to get untied."

"You think?" said Harry sarcastically. "Next time don't tie them so tight."

"But what if you-

"I won't!" he snapped. Ron just looked at him. "I won't," he whispered again trying to convince himself. 

During breakfast Harry told them all about his meeting with Pansy in the library. Neither of them seemed shocked that she had hit him, which annoyed him because he knew he had deserved it but he didn't want to hear that from anyone else. Something else that annoyed him was that Ron and Hermione were slowly reverting back to their old ways. It was just the little things that really bugged him, like the way she always played with his hair and the way she babied him. He tried not to let it get to him but he wasn't successful. He was almost glad that he didn't have to work with them in potions just yet. Then he remembered that he still had to work on the essay with Pansy. To get his mind off of her he changed the subject.

"So Hermione, which one of Millicent Bullstrode's memories did you see?"

"Oh, it was horrible. I saw her yelling at some poor little second year. She was petrified and ran away crying."

"What about you Ron? Who were you partnered with again, Crabbe?"

"No, Goyle, like he's much better. It was pretty weird actually. I, well he, was in here eating, big surprise, and he kept staring at Pansy. It was almost like he wanted to eat her or something."

Harry burst out laughing. Hermione registered it a second later and joined in. This was the first time Harry had laughed in a long time. 

"P-Pansy?" he asked through the breaths he was taking to try and stop laughing. 

"Yeah, maybe he fancies her."

"No, I don't think so," said Harry a little too quickly. 

"Why not?" said Hermione who had finally been able to stop giggling. 

"Because, it's _Goyle_."

"He's a guy too, Harry. You know, your acting a little je-

"Don't even finish that word," he said warningly to Hermione. The smile on her face faded. "What do I care if he fancies her? It's not like we're friends."

"Sorry," Hermione whispered looking down at her plate. 

"No, don't be sorry. You know what Harry, you don't have to take your problems out on us mate," said Ron, the anger apparent in his voice. "Mione's right, you are acting jealous."

"Mione, _Mione_?! What does she call you? Ronny? You guys are pathetic sometimes you know that. I'm not jealous. If I liked Pansy, why would I be trying to torture her in the middle of the night?"

Ron and Hermione looked at him as though they didn't know him. Hermione looked on the verge of tears and Ron looked as though he wanted to hit him. 

"What happened to you over the summer," Hermione whispered before getting up to leave. 

"I hope your happy now. Why don't you come talk to us when they real Harry re-inhabits your body," said Ron as he got up to follow Hermione. 

Harry sat there thinking, '_I need to learn how to keep my mouth shut._'

At the end of the day came potions, which no one was looking forward to because they still had to work on the essay with their partners. Harry had arrived and had chosen a seat near the front of the room. He wanted to put as much space between him and his friends. When he walked in neither of them even looked in his direction. '_If that's how you want it then fine,_' he thought as he sat down. Pansy had sat down next to Harry without looking at him. 

"I tied myself to my bed," he whispered so only she would hear. This took her by surprise. She hadn't really been serious when she said that. She recovered from her initial shock and said, "Good." After this they both took out their notes and started writing. 

"You know it's a waist of time if we both write the essay. Snape's only going to take one."

"What's your point?"

"Why don't we split it? I'll do the first half and then you can add whatever I've missed." 

"Why are you doing this?"

"Hey, I just don't want to write the whole thing for nothing."

She looked at him trying to see he was trying to trick her. '_Wow, his eyes are really green. Wait, I don't care what color his eyes are._' "Fine," she said out loud. "But you better make it good."

Snape walked in just as she had said this. He didn't need to give any directions because everyone already knew what to do. "You know what you should be doing, so get on with it. At the end of class you will turn in your essay and I will tell you and your partner the grade you received on your potion." 

About halfway through the class Harry silently handed his part of the essay to Pansy. She read it over and was actually somewhat impressed. He was a good writer. She looked through her notes, added what she could and corrected any mistakes, though there were few. They were the first group to finish, which totally took Snape by surprise. Besides Neville, Snape considered Harry and Pansy the two worst students in his class. On this potion, however, they had proved him wrong. 

"Are you sure you want to hand in this essay," he asked. "There's nothing missing from it?" Harry and Pansy nodded. "Very well, here is your grade." He slid pansy a piece of sealed parchment. "You are dismissed." They silently gathered their things and went out into the hallway. 

Pansy was rather worried to open the parchment. She wasn't an idiot; she knew how much Snape hated Harry. But she also knew that Snape highly favored his house. What she didn't know was which emotion he felt more. Harry on the other hand knew that although they had done the potion perfectly, Snape loathed him enough to give them both a P for 'poor'. 

"Don't be surprised if we fail. Snape hates me you know."

"Hhmm," said Pansy in agreement without really listening. She was worried about the grade. If she failed anything her father would be furious. 

Harry noticed she wasn't paying attention. "Goyle fancies you."

"That's nice."

"Hey! Snap out of it and open the parchment," Harry finally said. 

Pansy stopped thinking about what her father would do to her if she failed and slowly opened the parchment. When she saw it her eyes went wide with shock. '_He must have given us a T if she's this shocked,_' Harry thought. 'T' stood for 'troll' and it was the worst grade you could get. Pansy slowly looked up from the parchment and looked at Harry. She gave him the parchment. What Harry saw shocked him. They had gotten and 'outstanding.'

"Holy shi-

Pansy quickly covered Harry's mouth. After all they were still outside the potions room and if Snape heard that they would both get detention. She started laughing and so did Harry. "That's the best grade I've ever gotten in that class," said Pansy.

Me, too." This was the first time Harry had seen Pansy smile. And it was a real smile, not her usual smirk. He couldn't help think '_Hey, she's kind of pretty, but wait this is Pansy._'  "We make a pretty good team," said Harry still smiling.

"I guess so." They walked down the corridor together until the reached the stairs. Harry was headed to his common room and Pansy to hers. He got half way up the stairs before calling down to Pansy. She turned around. 

"I'm sorry," he said for the second time in two days. 

"I know," she said before turning around and walking away. 

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Potions turned out to be the class most talked about. With a different partner and potion every week, everyone was very busy. Over the weeks they had done several other potions: a potion to make you invisible, a potion that would freeze (literally) whoever drank it (several students ended up with colds after this one), and even a flying potion. One potion in particular caused a bit of a problem. It was a potion that made the drinker turn a bright shade of magenta if they told a lie. Some one in the class thought it would be highly amusing to smuggle some out and pour it into several people's drinks I the Great Hall. Needless to say, there were a few very color full people walking around Hogwarts for a few days. Among them was Ron. Harry took much pleasure in teasing him, as the magenta clashed horribly with his red hair. The weeks of potions flew by and pretty soon it was almost Christmas. Many people were going home for the holidays but there were two people who would definitely be wanting to stay at Hogwarts. 

Harry and Pansy hadn't spoken to each other since they uncovered their miraculous grade in potions. They would occasionally acknowledge each other but that was it. But one morning Harry couldn't help but notice a panicked look on Pansy's face as she read a letter. 

Pansy wasn't expecting any mail from anyone so when she received a copy of the Daily Prophet she was quite surprised. She opened it up and out fell a letter from her father. 

Dear Pansy,

We need to have a talk. When are you coming home for the holidays? It better be soon. This house is a mess. You better not get to comfortable over there in that muggle-lover's school. You never know when I might make a surprise visit and come and get you. Don't even think about staying at school for vacation. 

Pansy ripped the letter into tiny pieces. She wasn't going to let him get to her. She had to think of a plan to stay in school, no matter what it took even if she had to hurt herself to do it. But she had to hurry. Vacation was days away. Then she thought of the perfect plan. It would hurt, but going home would hurt more.

She waited until the end of the week. She couldn't do it right away; she knew that Madame Pomfrey was a good healer. With one day to go she did it. After classes she went to Madame Hooch and convinced her to let her use one of the school brooms. Pansy said she wanted to be a decent flier. She said she was embarrassed that some first years were better than her. After much wining Madame Hooch agreed. Pansy made sure no one saw her going to the quidditch pitch. When she got there she took a deep breath. '_Anything is better than going back to that hellhole._' And with that last thought she kicked off the ground. She was wobbly at first, but then she got used to it. She loved the feeling of the wind through her loose hair. She didn't know that from far off someone was watching. She figured that she better do it before she lost her nerve. She flew about fifty feet in the air and then she jumped. She was falling and she heard someone yell. She couldn't make out what they had said because of the rushing wind. No one was there to save her. Then it was all black. 

"Pansy, NO!" Harry yelled as he ran onto the quidditch pitch. He had been watching her ever since she had read the letter. As she was falling he raised his wand and said the first spell that came to his mind. "_Winguardium__ leviosa_!" She was a foot from the ground when she slowed down, but she still hit with a loud thud. Harry rushed over to her. 

"Pansy! Wake up!" he said shaking her. He knew he had to go get help. "Hold on," he whispered before he ran to the castle as fast as his feet would carry him. 

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End of this chapter! A bit drastic, I know, but what can I say, she was desperate. I hope this all made sense. See you next time. I'm trying to make the romance come slowly. I don't want to do it all at once. Who knows maybe this will turn into a tragedy. Please review!


	10. In the Hospital Wing

Disclaimer: I own nothing. 

Without further ado…chapter 10.

* * *

Chapter 10

"Mr. Potter, if you hadn't been there she probably would have died," said the nurse, the worry apparent in her voice. 

"Madame Pomfrey's right you know," McGonagall said looking at Harry with what seemed to be pride. It had been a day since the accident and they still couldn't get over Harry's miraculous rescue.  

She woke slowly and could barley make out the whispers. Her head was throbbing and her whole body felt sore. She felt like she had just been tortured for hours and hours. '_What happened to me?_' she thought. Then it all came flooding back to her, the letter, her fear of having to return home, and her desperate plan. In fact the memories came back a little too quickly and her head started to throb as if some one was beating her over the head with a mallet. She let out an audible groan.

When he heard Pansy groan he turned around quickly to look at her. He went and sat on a chair next to her bed. He still couldn't believe what he had witnessed. Was her life so horrible that she would consider ending it? What could be going on that would make her do this, and what on earth did that letter say? He thought all this while looking at her. She was very pale and had slight bruises on her face, arms and legs. Then he remembered, her father. '_He must be a horrible bastard. What the hell did he do to her over the summer? I guess I'm not the only one who didn't have such a great summer.'_

Slowly, Pansy tried opening her eyes. Even that hurt. When she finally got them open she found herself staring into bright green eyes filled with concern. "Professor, she's waking up," he whispered without taking his eyes off of her. 

"Oh, thank Merlin. How are you feeling, dear?" asked the nurse comfortingly. 

"Awful, I suppose, Poppy," said McGonagall a little more sternly than she had meant to because she had thought it a dumb question. 

"What day is it?" Pansy managed to say looking at the teacher and nurse at the foot of her bed and ignoring Harry who was sitting down next to her. The truth is, she felt embarrassed that he was there. '_At least he doesn't know what really happened,'_ she thought. 

"It's Saturday," Harry said catching Pansy by surprise. "First day of holidays, and Hogsmeade weekend." 

She looked at him wondering what he was doing there. Then her thoughts shifted. '_I'm safe. It's already vacation, and I'll probably have to stay in the hospital wing for a while longer. I won't have to go home,'_ Pansy thought relieved. 

"You know, dear, you had quite a fall yesterday," Madame Pomfrey began. "If it hadn't been for Mr. Potter here, I shudder to think what could have happened."

Pansy's eyes widened. "What? You saved me?" she gasped out. 

Harry nodded.

"Perhaps we should give them some time alone," McGonagall whispered to Poppy. She nodded. 

"Ms. Parkinson, here is a sleeping potion. I advised you to take it if you want a good rest," said the nurse before walking into her office with McGonagall.

Pansy took the potion and held it in her hand; her gaze never left Harry's face. "You-why-how-," Pansy couldn't find the words to speak. 

"I saw you open that letter and you looked so scared that I knew who it was from. I thought you might do something so that you didn't have to go back home but I didn't think it would be this serious. Do you realize you could have died?" By the look on Pansy's face Harry realized that the thought hadn't crossed her mind. 

"I almost died? I didn't mean to." Her eyes started to well up with tears. Harry took the potion out of her hand and placed it on the nightstand. What he did next came as quite a surprise to Pansy. He took hold of her hand. He didn't squeeze it roughly as he had done months ago in potions, he just held it gently. Her initial reaction was to pull it away, but something in her mind said, '_Don't.'_ She couldn't help but think '_This feels right.'_ So she just looked at him as he started to speak. 

"I don't know exactly what happened to you over the summer but I have a pretty good idea and it's horrible. Nobody should have to go through that, and I'm sorry you had to. And on top of all that you have to worry about me too. Trust me; I know what it's like to have someone after you who wants to hurt you. But no matter how bad it gets, hurting yourself is _never _a smart thing. Because then, you'll be doing that asshole a favor. Never give in to the pain. And when it gets bad, just talk to someone, like your friends." It hurt him to talk about friends when at the moment he was at odds with his own.

She looked at him and knew that he meant every word he had just said. But it hurt to say out loud what she had always known was true, "I don't have any real friends like you do."

"You have me," he said breaking eye contact for the first time and looking down at the floor. The pain in her eyes was intense. "Besides, I don't have any friends at the moment either, so I could use one." 

She didn't know what to say. A few months ago, if someone told her she would be having this conversation she would have told them they needed a visit to St. Mungo's. 

Harry finally let go of her hand and took the sleep potion from off of the nightstand. As he handed it to her he said, "You better take this. It'll help you sleep, and don't worry no one knows what happened. They think it was an accident." He got up to leave. When he was at the door he turned around and said, "Sweet dreams, Pansy." 

"Thanks…Harry." She took the potion and her last thought before falling asleep was _'I think I like him.'_

Harry was halfway to Hogsmeade when he realized '_She called me Harry.'_

* * *

It was busier than ever in Hogsmeade due to everyone doing last minute Christmas shopping. After all Christmas was on Monday. Harry walked around, his money jingling happily in his pocket just waiting to be spent. He had decided on the way there that he was going to buy Pansy a present, but what would he buy? He had never shopped for a girl before. This wasn't entirely true, he had shopped for Hermione plenty of times but she would be content with any book and he doubted whether Pansy would want a book for Christmas. After everything she's been through she deserved something more. And it was also true that Pansy had no friends that Harry could ask advice from. Besides how would it look if Harry Potter was asking around about what to buy a Slytherin for Christmas? Harry grudgingly decided that he would need a girls help, he decided to ask Hermione. 

It was about an hour before Harry finally spotted them. He had already gotten both of their present. He had bought a giant book of potions for Hermione. It was rather advanced but he knew she would appreciate the challenge. For Ron he had gotten a magical quaffle at Quality Quidditch Supplies. It was magicked to fly straight at you, and it was for keeper practicing. He figured he would butter them up before asking for their help. They were standing together outside of Zonko's Joke shop apparently trying to decide where to go next. Harry thought this was as good a time as any so he walked up to them knowing there was a large possibility that Ron would hex him on the spot. 

"Hey guys," he said. 

They just looked at him before Ron said, "Harry, is that really you?"

"No, its Voldemort disguised as Harry. Of course it's me."

They both slightly flinched at the name but they couldn't hide their smirks. "What do you want?" said Hermione obviously still angry at him. 

"I need your help buying a present."

"Who's it for?" she asked curiously. "For us?"

"Oh, no. I've already gotten your presents. They're right here in this bag. I must say I have outdone myself this year. It's for Pansy," he said simply. 

"Really? Oh, I heard what happened. I wonder if she's alright."

"She's fine," he said quickly. "I went to see her in hospital."

Ron and Hermione exchanged a small but significant look. Harry knew what it meant. He also knew that Ron wasn't going to be as quick to forgive him as Hermione was.

"Yeah so what if she is my friend, is that a problem?"

"No, of course not," said Hermione quickly not wanting another row. 

Ron spoke for the first time and asked his question as casually as he could. "Do you…like her?"

"I don't know," he replied knowing only too well what the answer really was. "Maybe." He wasn't too eager to disclose any private information with them in such a populated area. "So will you help me?"

"I suppose," said Hermione looking a little reluctant. 

Hermione proceeded to ask Harry questions that he couldn't have answered in a million years like what's her favorite color and what kind of things does she like. 

"Hermione, how am I supposed to know these things?"

"Well, you said you were friends."

"Well, it's kind of a recent development."

They went from shop to shop looking at quills, books, robes, candy, and just about everything in Hogsmeade. Finally Harry settled on a nicely packaged box of different flavored chocolates from the candy store. He had it wrapped and decided that he would have it owled to Pansy's dorm room on Christmas if she was out of the hospital wing. If not he would give it to her himself. They spent the whole day off school grounds and only returned when it was starting to get dark. Ron and Hermione hadn't fully forgiven Harry but they were at least talking to him now, although they weren't exactly acting like best friends. Harry told them he would meet them back in the common room. He wanted to check on Pansy. 

* * *

She had slept for the whole day. The nurse would come in every hour and give Pansy more potion so that she could be fully rested. However, she had now gone to a late dinner and apparently had forgotten to give her more potion because she woke. She felt very rested, but she wanted to go back to sleep, so she closed her eyes. Without the potion, however, she was free to dream. 

She was in her kitchen, slaving over a hot stove, for the man she called her father. He was sitting at the table yelling at her to hurry up, but she was going as fast as she could. She was peeling potatoes. Then in a wave of fury he got up from the table and went over to her. He grabbed the knife from her hand and said, "If you can't peel faster, then I'll peel you." He held the knife to her face. "Please father, no. You're going to cut me." He laughed. He didn't care what he did to her. 

"Don't say 'no' to me. I can do whatever I want. Maybe you need a little reminder. I know, how about I use your favorite."

"No, not cruciatus. Please." Her eyes began to fill with tears as her did the curse. '_Just kill me and get it over with,'_ she thought as some one shook her awake. 

* * *

He walked into the hospital wing and over to Pansy's bed. She was sleeping but she looked very disturbed. '_She must be having a nightmare.'_ Then he heard her say it. "No, not cruciatus. Please." Suddenly she began to shake as it she really was being tortured. Horrified, Harry saw a tear trickle down her cheek. Quickly he began to shake her awake. 

She woke to find those eyes that she loved looking into her damp blue ones. "He-he-,"

"I know," said Harry. He sat on her bed and reached for her. He put his arms around her and she rested her head on his chest. He stroked her hair softly as she cried her heart out on his robes. "That bastard," Harry whispered. 

"Don't let go," whispered Pansy through her sobs. "Please." She just felt right in his arms, like there was no other place she should be and she wanted to stay like this for as long as she could. 

They didn't know that they were being watched. The black hawk on the window ledge to the hospital wing flew away.

* * *

Yay! Another chapter finished. I hope you liked it and I also hope it wasn't too mushy, was it? I liked it. Can you guess what or _who_ that black hawk is? I bet you can, you're a smart bunch! Thanks for reading…please review… I need feedback. Any ideas are welcome.


	11. Black Hawk goes to Hogwarts

Disclaimer: You know who it all belongs to…not me that's for sure. 

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Chapter 11

Without a sound the handsome black hawk had transformed into a not so handsome man. His hair was a mess, his robes were ragged and his face was twisted with fury. He stormed into the living room yelling incoherently. 

"Aaarrrhg!" he yelled as he punched the stone wall. He heard several bones crack but paid them no mind. He was too angry to feel the pain. "How could she! Uuurrrgh! Accio table!" The large wooden and glass table in the middle of the living room went flying in his direction. He ducked just in time and the table smashed and shattered into tiny pieces against the cold, stone wall. Glass went everywhere, cutting the back of his head as he stood there panting with fury. 

"That, that…bitch!" he yelled as he pointed his wand at the couch causing great gashes to appear on the cushions. The stuffing now littered the rug. He stalked over to a partially severed cushion and began tearing it to pieces. Slowly, his anger started to ebb away and it was replaced by sadness. He sank down onto the floor next to the ruined couch and began to cry silent tears. He thought he would never stop. He wrapped his arms around his bent knees and mumbled to himself. He strongly resembled a small child. 

"How could she? How could she betray me this way, just like _her_? Why does she have to be like her? And _him_, of all people why him? She'll pay for this. She has to." The sadness had now left him completely and it was replaced by the purest rage. His tone of voice was so cold and unforgiving; he could have frozen the largest lake. He got up and angrily wiped the tears that were still falling freely. "I won't suffer anymore because of them." He walked over to the kitchen and stood in front of a locked cupboard. Small carvings could be seen on the lower right hand corner of one of the doors. He wiped the dust that had accumulated over the years and the carvings read: _Dark Potions Ingredients._ "If she wants to stay at that old fool's school, I'll give her a good reason to stay. She'll be too hurt to travel," he said as a wicked grin played across his face. With that, he unlocked the cupboard and began pulling out ingredients. 

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He woke up slowly expecting to hear the soft breathing of his roommates, or in Ron's case, loud snoring. When he didn't he thought, '_Where am I?'_ Then it came back to him. He turned his head and saw that Pansy was asleep next to him. He had his arm around her shoulders and her head lay peacefully on his chest. His robes felt a little damp on his chest and he realized that Pansy must have cried herself to sleep. 

He never thought he could hate someone he had never met before, but then he thought of her father and he was sure that he hated him. He couldn't imagine how any parent could put their child through so much pain and misery. Very slowly he took his arm from around her shoulders and made to get off the bed. He gently laid her head back on the pillow and gave her hand a small squeeze before saying "sleep tight" and leaving the hospital wing. 

He walked cautiously, not wanting to get caught out of bed so early by a teacher, or by Filch. He looked down at the floor as he walked while the night before kept replaying in his head. He had expected to find Pansy sleeping peacefully but instead she was having a nightmare. When she started shaking like she was having a seizure, Harry thought he would be sick. If Ron and Hermione had seen her like that they would understand how he felt. He felt bad for her. He realized that they have a lot of bad things in common. But did he feel more than pity? Or did he just want someone to talk to who would understand? Ron and Hermione certainly did not understand everything he had been through. They had both grown up with so much love in their lives, how could they possibly relate. His train of thought was broken as he walked right into someone. It was Dumbledore. 

"Harry, what are you doing out of bed so early and on vacation?" he asked with that familiar twinkle in his eyes. 

"I, um, went to go visit Pansy," Harry lied quickly. 

"I see. Yes, I heard about Miss Parkinson's accident. I was actually going to see her myself."

"She's sleeping."

"As you should be," said Dumbledore smiling at Harry. "I was going to write a letter to her parents today informing them of the accident."

"No!" said Harry panicking slightly. 

"And why not?" he said surveying Harry through his half-mooned spectacles. "Is there something you wish to tell me?"

Harry thought for a moment about whether or not to tell him, and then he decided that if he couldn't trust Dumbledore, he couldn't trust anyone. He sighed and said, "Can we go to your office instead. I don't want anyone to hear." The headmaster nodded. 

In no time they were at the stone gargoyle. Dumbledore said the password "toffee" and they began the ascent up the spiral staircase. Once in the office Dumbledore sat down and motioned to Harry to do the same. He took a deep breath and told him everything. He started with the "dream", he talked about the potion, and he ended with last night. Dumbledore listened carefully; only nodding occasionally. When Harry was finished, Dumbledore finally spoke. 

"Well, in light of these new circumstances I will not contact her father. Her mother, however, is a different story. Do you know anything about her?" 

Harry shook his head. He realized that he hadn't even thought of Pansy's mother. He felt mortified by the possible thought that Pansy's mother knew what was happening and did nothing. '_Maybe she doesn't know,'_ he thought. He resolved to find out. 

"Harry, I will please ask you to keep an eye on Miss Parkinson to make sure she doesn't do anything rash."

"You mean like throw herself off another broom," Harry added grimly. 

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean. I believe that you are her only real friend. Now, I will be informing the other professors that Mr. Parkinson is not to be allowed in this school. Don't worry," he added seeing the look of apprehension on Harry's face, "I will not tell them why. They trust me enough to do as I say, no questions asked." Harry nodded. "Now, you will need to get some sleep if you are to wake up nice and early tomorrow to open all of your presents," said the headmaster, his cheerful demeanor back in place. 

Harry nodded and got up from his chair. Before he left the office he said, "Thank you for listening, Professor." As Harry walked back to the common room he was thankful that it was vacation and he had no classes to worry about for a while. He didn't bother putting on his pajamas and went straight to bed and fell asleep.  

Dumbledore sat and pondered for a moment after Harry had left. Then he voiced his theory out loud. "Those two need each other." 

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She woke slowly. It took her a while to get used to the bright sun. She looked around to see all of the empty beds. She remembered what had happened the night before. '_He must have left when I fell asleep.'_  

Just then Madame Pomfrey came bustling in. "Well, good morning dear. It's good to see you wide awake." Pansy gave a feeble smile. It was too early for all of her cheerfulness. "Now let me look at you." The nurse checked all of Pansy's injuries and seemed to be satisfied. "All of your bruises have healed up nicely. If you can keep down your breakfast you can go back to your room today." Madame Pomfrey left and came back with a tray full of toast, scrambled eggs, and pumpkin juice. There was no way that she was that hungry but she really wanted to get out of the hospital. 

While the nurse went back to her office, Pansy ate as much as she could until she thought she would throw up, then she magicked the rest away. When the nurse came back she was very pleased indeed. "Oh dear, you must have been famished. Well, I suppose you can go now."

"What time is it?" Pansy asked.

"It's noon. A little late for breakfast, I know, but it's the most important meal of the day." She closed the curtain around Pansy's bed to allow her to put her robes back on. "Make sure you eat a good lunch and a full dinner. It will help you get your strength back."

"Okay," said Pansy pulling aside the curtain. 

"And one more thing," said the nurse, cheeriness now gone from her voice, "no more flying for you, for a long while, understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am," and with that she left. 

As she walked she thought about her dream. '_That won't happen. Harry won't let it.'_

_'Oh, its Harry now is it? What happened to Potter? Don't you think he has better things to do than worry about you,'_ a little nagging voice interrupted her thoughts. 

_'He's my friend.'_

_'Are you sure? What makes you think he isn't laughing at you behind your back with his _real_ friends right now?'_ The voice would not stop. 

"He isn't," she said out loud. "He isn't."

Pansy decided to follow the nurse's advice and eat some lunch. When she entered the Hall it wasn't nearly as full as it usually was. A lot of people had gone home to be with their families. This, of course saddened Pansy, but she didn't let it get to her. She sat down at the Slytherin table and started eating. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry's growling stomach woke him around midday. He got up and looked around. Seamus, Neville and Dean had all gone home for the holidays, so it was just him and Ron. Neither of them were too happy about this. At the moment, Ron was not there either. Harry decided to go eat lunch. 

He walked into the hall expecting to see Ron and Hermione at their table waiting for him. Gryffindor table, however, was virtually empty. The only people there were some first and second years that he didn't really know. '_They must have wanted some time alone. So what else is new?'_ He sat down anyway and started eating. 

Pansy saw him come in from across the hall. She saw the disappointed look on his face when he didn't find his friends there. She remembered seeing them outside when she passed a window. She decided to talk to him. 

He saw her crossing the hall but he never thought that it would be to talk to him. When she sat down next to him the other Gryffindors eyed her suspiciously. 

"Hi," she said.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I fell off a broom. You?"

"Like I haven't eaten in a month."

They ate silently side by side. Suddenly they heard a commotion outside of the hall. They could make out yelling but they couldn't tell who the voices belonged to. What they could tell was that whoever they belonged to they were extremely angry. 

As the voices got closer and closer to the hall, they could make out McGonagall's furious voice. "You must leave the premises immediately! The headmaster has issued orders that you not be allowed in this school! We will use force if necessary!" 

"I have the right to see my own daughter! Pansy, are you in there?!" 

Harry looked at Pansy; she had visibly paled. She looked as if she would be sick. The fear in her eyes was immeasurable. 

"Severus, summon the headmaster at once," said McGonagall. 

Suddenly the doors burst open. A ragged looking wizard came storming through. His eyes locked with Pansy's. Pansy was as stiff as a board and looked too afraid to move. 

"Get up Pansy," Harry said pulling Pansy up. He thought they would have to make a run for it. 

Then her father spoke in what was a falsely sweet voice. Harry was forcibly reminded of Professor Umbridge. "Come on, sweetheart. Let's get out of here. I can give you your present when we get home."__

"Mr. Parkinson, I am warning you," said McGonagall in a stern voice.

Pansy shook her head. She was shaking. She couldn't believe this was happening. Not here, where she thought she was safe. 

Her father dropped his false voice in an instant. "I said get over here. NOW!"

"NO!" Harry yelled stepping in front of Pansy. 

"You, boy, need to be taught a lesson." Before he could even pull out his wand, Professor McGonagall had yelled "_Stupefy_" and a jet of red light had hit him in the back and he crumpled down on the floor. 

Just then Professor Snape came in with Dumbledore. "I had to stun him, Albus. He threatened them both."

Dumbledore surveyed the wizard at his feet with utmost dislike. "Severus, please escort Mr. Parkinson back to Hogsmeade Station and make sure he gets on the next train home."

Snape nodded and conjured a stretcher. He floated Pansy's father onto it and they left the hall. 

Dumbledore walked over to Pansy and Harry. Pansy was visibly in shock. "Listen to me Miss Parkinson, your father will not harm you anymore," he whispered. "Would you like me to inform your mother about these events." 

"I-I don't know where she is. She left us over the summer." Silent tears were rolling down her cheeks. 

"Very well, go up to the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey can give you a calming potion. You will be in fine shape for Christmas," he added with a small smile. 

Pansy almost felt relieved. Dumbledore would certainly protect her. And now that they knew how crazy her father was, they won't let him anywhere near her. But that made Pansy wonder, '_Dumbledore must have told the other professors not to let him in, but why? Unless…he told Dumbledore.'_ Pansy looked over at Harry. He knew what she was thinking. 

"I'm sorry, Pansy. I had to tell someone. Now he can't hurt you anymore." Harry thought Pansy would be furious with him. Instead she through her arms around him and hugged him tightly. 

"Thank you," she whispered. 

Ron and Hermione had seen the whole thing. Now they knew. 

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Well, that's all for now. I hope you liked it. I think this is one of the longest chapters. I'm happy with it. As always please review!


	12. Voldemort's Plan

Sorry this took so long. I was going to update last Thursday before I went on spring break but the website wouldn't let me log on for some reason. Oh well, I'll get on with it now. 

Disclaimer: It's not mine…blah, blah, blah…no money being made…blah, blah, blah…don't sue…blah, blah, yadda, yadda . 

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Chapter 12

The couple stood there dumbstruck as Snape floated an unconscious man on a stretcher down the hall. 

"Bloody hell! Did we just see what I think we saw?" Ron asked an equally shocked Hermione who was standing next to him. 

All she could do was nod. She was staring transfixed at Harry and Pansy. Pansy was holding on to him as though she would never let go. Once Hermione had put all of the pieces together, her heart broke for Pansy. She had seen the horrified look on Pansy's face when her father had burst through the big wooden doors. She didn't know what to say. All this time she thought that Pansy was being horrible for no reason, but no wonder why she hated everyone. Hermione couldn't bear the thought of her father hurting her, and she couldn't understand how anyone could do such a thing. 

As if reading her mind Ron silently exclaimed next to her, "He's bloody crazy, storming in here like that. And did you see McGonagall? Remind me never to get on her bad side." He looked silently at Hermione who seemed to be thinking hard. He gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Should we go in there? I mean, isn't Harry still mad at us?"

"Yes, but he needs us right now."

They walked into the Great Hall not knowing what to expect. 

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A long, loud horn woke him. He didn't know where he was. He opened his eyes slowly but was blinded by the bright sunlight. He started to think back. The last thing he remembered was that he was going to curse Harry Potter, then that old bitch McGonagall stunned him. He opened his eyes again and looked around. After a few seconds it registered that he was in a train. It was now stopped and he couldn't hear anyone else. Was he the only one there? He got up groggily and opened the door. One look down the corridor of the train told him that he was on the Hogwarts Express. "I'll get them for this." He stepped out onto the now empty platform 9 ¾. Just as he was about to apparate home, the tattoo on his forearm burned jet black and instead he apparated to his master's side with a smile on his face. He knew that he had some useful information to give him.  

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Ron and Hermione walked slowly towards the embraced couple. Harry saw them coming and rather than look at them he buried his face in Pansy's shoulder. Hermione saw this and felt a small stab of sadness but continued on nevertheless. 

When they finally reached them, they stood there awkwardly for a second before Ron cleared his throat softly. Pansy sprang abruptly from Harry and spun around. For a second, Ron and Hermione could see the utter misery present in her eyes. However, that was short lived. As soon as Pansy saw who it was, a hint of annoyance crept up in her. 

"What," she snapped. She knew these were Harry friends but she didn't care. Besides didn't he say he was mad at them anyway? Then she felt Harry arm around her waist and all doubts were erased. He was mad at them. 

"We saw-," Hermione began awkwardly but was cut off by Pansy. 

"And you've come to rub it in my face? Come to laugh at me? Come to tell me how perfect your family's are?" Pansy's croaked. It was evident that she had been crying, and silent tears threatened to start again but she wiped them away angrily. 

"No!" said Hermione horrified. "We wanted to say that we were sorry." Ron nodded fervently in agreement. "And if there's anything we can do, if you ever want to talk…" Hermione trailed off seeing the look on Pansy's face. 

"I'll tell you what you can do. You can get out of my face," Pansy whispered. 

Ron looked shocked. "We were just trying to be nice. Come on 'Mione, I think they want to be alone," Ron said with a hint of resentment in his voice. 

Harry tried to hide the smirk that was threatening to form on his face at the look of indignation on Ron's face. He couldn't help but feel satisfied. At least now they knew what a maniac Pansy's father was and everything she was going through. 

What bothered Hermione most was not that Pansy had totally rejected their peace offering, but that Harry had just stood there with no hint of emotion on his face at all. Did he even care about them anymore? Hermione knew she was losing her best friend and she just couldn't let that happen. 

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With a crack he had apparated into a lavish living room. A look around told him that whoever lived here was extremely wealthy. _'Not a bad place to hold a meeting. Certainly better than the dumps we used to use,'_ he thought. Suddenly, more and more wizards started apparating into the room. They were all wearing their long, black cloaks with the hoods down. He hadn't seen this many of his fellow death eaters for a long time. The Dark Lord was operating on low key ever since the incident at the Ministry of Magic two years ago. Though he did not know exactly what happened, he knew it involved Harry Potter. This is why he knew he would be highly rewarded for his information. If the Dark Lord was calling all of his followers, then he must be planning something big. Then it hit him. If the Dark Lord was calling _all_ of his followers, then _she_ would most certainly be here. He had to keep cool. He could not let her ruin his chance to get on the Dark Lord's good side. He would act as if nothing happened, nothing at all. 

The last few people finished apparating in. Now it was obvious why this location had been chosen. The sheer size of it was needed to accommodate the few hundred death eaters now present. He marveled silently at the following his master had been able to gather. 

Then, out of the shadows came Lord Voldemort. He was wearing a cloak much like that of the death eaters, only his hood was up. But nothing could cover that hideously pale skin, those red eyes that saw right through you and the snake-like slits he had for a nose.

Once everyone realized that he was there, all talking stopped at once. Then he spoke in that cold, cruel and unforgiving voice. "It pleases me to see you all here. All of you, so loyal. Your loyalty will be repaid in full. Now we get down to business. As most of you will already know, I had sent two of my most trusted followers to America to try and rally more supporters for our cause. Patricia, William, a report if you please."

Out of the crowd came two people. They walked up to the front of the room and stood next to the Dark Lord. That's when he saw her. She was just standing there without a care in the world. Her long blond hair was falling down her back and her blue eyes were addressing the crowd. The man was standing next to her also surveying the crowd with a sneer on his face. Before he spoke he gave a small bow to his master. "Thank you my lord. Now, we were able to gather quite a few American supporters, however, not as many as we would have liked. We told them not to come here just yet; we thought it would look suspicious. They are awaiting orders as we speak."

"Well done," the Dark Lord said with a sneer. "I'm sure they will come in very handy to our cause." A few people sniggered at this remark, while others had no clue what he meant. "I am aware that not all of you know what I am planning. I have told only my most trusted death eaters. At the time I was not even sure I wanted to follow through with this particular plan. However, after the events at the Ministry of Magic two years ago, I was determined!" Several people shivered at his voice. "Harry Potter has thwarted me for the last time. I have already gotten the assurance of the dementors, and the giants have also agreed, well a few of them agreed. We disposed of the rest of them; they were not sure which side they were on. It was not difficult, they practically extinguished their entire race over the years so we convinced them to fight each other," he said cruelly and several more people openly laughed. However, those who did not know what was going on only listened quietly. What could they possibly need with dementors and giants…unless? Voldemort continued, "Come this June we will launch a full attack against Hogwarts. For those of you thinking about running away, I have one word for you, don't. And for those of you thinking it is suicide, do not worry I have a plan and it will not fail me." He sounded so determined that no one questioned him. "The first thing we need to do is get Harry Potter _out _of the school, He cannot be there when we attack otherwise he will be under Dumbledore's protection." 

Now was his chance, now he could give his master the information. He steadily walked through the crowd until he reached the front. When Patricia and William saw him their eyes narrowed in disgust. He paid them no mind and walked until he was face to face with his master. He bowed slightly before he spoke. 

"Master, if you please, I have some information that might prove useful to your plan." 

Voldemort surveyed him carefully before speaking. "And who are you again?"

"Maximus Parkinson, my lord."

"Very well, speak."

"Well, my lord, I propose that you lure Potter out of the castle by taking those that mean the most to him."

"If you recall, Maximus, Black is dead. He was the only one that Potter would go to any lengths to save." 

Able to see that Voldemort was getting agitated, he spoke more quickly. "There is some one else. Potter is in love."

Voldemort's eyes gleamed devilishly. He almost looked excited. "And who pray tell is the lucky young witch?"

"My daughter, Pansy."

Patricia let out an audible gasp. "No! She wouldn't." 

"Yes, my dear, she would," Maximus said scathingly. "My lord, if something was to happen to Pansy I am sure that Potter would go to any lengths to rescue her. Just today, I went to the school to bring her back home and he actually stood up to me and tried to protect her."

"Are you sure?" Voldemort asked not bothering to hide his excitement.

"I would stake my life on it."

"Good, because you just have."

He gulped. "If I may, my lord, there is one more thing. I believe it would prove useful to also lure his two friends. I've heard my daughter talking, well actually complaining, about them. Apparently they are inseparable. I believe their names are Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, a mudblood."

Someone spoke up. "Yes, my lord, that is correct. I have also heard my son, Draco, speak of them. I too believe it would be useful," the drawling voice of Lucius Malfoy called out from the crowd.

"Very well, Maximus. I thank you for this information as it will prove useful. It please me to see that you are willing to use your own daughter for the cause."

"Anything for you my lord."

Patricia, who had been shocked by this whole thing, looked horrified. "Maximus you can't be serious. Your own daughter?"

"I do what I must for the cause," he said coldly.   
  


"As should you," Voldemort said, casting Patricia a dangerous look. "We will not harm your daughter…unless of course it is necessary," he added with a cruel smile. "This meeting is adjourned." One by one all of the death eaters disapparated. 

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Pansy screamed with horror as Harry clutched his scar and fell to the cold stone floor of the Great Hall. When he finally stopped screaming and opened his eyes he was able to say only three words.

"Voldemort…attack…Hogwarts." Then he passed out. 

Horrified Pansy ran to get the headmaster.

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Well I'm done for today. Do you think the attack on Hogwarts is too much? I hope not. It just came to me all of a sudden and I had to add it. Please review! 


	13. Questions and Answers

I'm back again! I like to update to keep you happy. Anyway…here we go!

Disclaimer: Do I even have to say anything. You know this already. 

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Chapter 13

She ran as fast as her legs would carry her. Her heart was hammering inside her throat. She could barely breathe, but she had to get Dumbledore. _'Voldemort's going to attack the school?!' _she thought frantically. She didn't even know where his office was but she had to try. Just then all the wind was knocked out of her as an arm came out of no where and wrapped itself around her stomach. She struggled to get free before she realized who it was. 

"Whoa, Pansy! Where's the fire?" Draco's drawling voice said. 

"Not now, Draco I have to find Dumbledore!" she said desperately. 

"What do you want with that old fool," the blonde boy replied somewhat annoyed. 

"Just let me go!" Pansy was starting to panic. What if she didn't warn Dumbledore in time? She started to struggle again. This did little except make Draco more annoyed. 

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he snapped. 

"I told you," she said, now starting to lose her own patience. With all her might she pushed Draco from her, "I have to find Dumbledore!"

Just as Draco was about to respond to Pansy's shove, with his wand, Dumbledore poked his head from around the corner.

"Did someone call me?" he said with a small smile. 

"Professor!" Pansy was so relieved she could barley speak. "It's Harry," she managed to say, "Come quick!" With that she began to run back towards the Great Hall. 

The smile that the headmaster had worn now dissolved into nothingness, as he quickly followed Pansy. The two left a stunned Draco standing in the hallway by himself. 

'_What the hell is going on around here? First father tells me to stay here for Christmas, now Pansy's calling Potter by his name?!'_ a confused Draco thought. He decided to follow the two to see exactly what was going on. 

When Pansy and Dumbledore reached the hall, Harry was exactly where she had left him. He looked deathly pale and it was easy to see that his breathing was shallow. Dumbledore quickly ran over to the lifeless looking boy and checked him over. Then he whispered _'ennervate'_. Slowly, Harry woke. He still had his hand over his scar, but when he removed it, it was plain that the scar was very well defined. It almost looked…_fresh_. 

"Harry, how are you feeling?" the headmaster asked. 

As soon as he heard Dumbledore's voice, Harry began rambling incoherently trying to get it all out. "Ssshhh," Dumbledore whispered. "Let's get you to the hospital wing first."

Draco saw them heading towards the doors and hid behind a suit of armor. He watched as the trio made their way to the hospital wing. When they were a safe distance away, he followed. 

Once Harry was in bed, Madame Pomfrey gave him a calming potion for his nerves and a cooling potion so that his scar would stop burning. Once Dumbledore was satisfied that he was okay, he began to ask his questions. All Pansy could do was sit on the bed next to Harry and listen silently as he relived his vision. 

"I am assuming that you have seen something very disturbing, Harry?" the headmaster began. "If you could please start from the beginning and tell me everything you saw." His calming voice made Harry feel slightly better, but then he remembered what he was about to say and the good feeling was gone. 

"I saw a big living room. It was huge and fancy. And then a few hundred death eaters apparated in." Pansy gasped and Dumbledore shifted in his seat. "I only saw flashes this time so I didn't really understand it all. But I, well Voldemort, said that he had a plan. He said he knew he wanted to go through with it ever since what happened at the Ministry of Magic two years ago. I felt his anger, he was so determined…" Harry's voice trailed off. He couldn't bring himself to say it. Dumbledore sensed his hesitation and prodded him forward. 

"And what happened next?"

"Well, this is when the flashes started. I heard something about dementors and giants. Then some of the death eaters were laughing. Then he said that-that…he was going to attack the school," he finished in a rush.

"What?" Dumbledore asked sternly. 

Harry sighed. "Voldemort's going to attack the school, in June." Dumbledore frowned. Harry had never seen him looking so old and worn as he did right now. Not even the time in fifth year after the department of mysteries incident.

"Is there anything else Harry?"

The truth was that there was something else, something that Harry had been trying to figure out since he had regained consciousness. He wasn't sure if it was important, but he figured that Dumbledore should know. "Um, I saw Mr. Parkinson there. Voldemort called him Maximus." Pansy let out a small squeak of terror. Harry took her hand and held it gently before continuing. "He was standing in front of me, and he looked really pleased with himself, like he had just done something important. Then I felt happy, well Voldemort felt happy. Then Maximus said 'I do what I must for the cause.' It's probably nothing important, I just thought it was weird," Harry finished somewhat lamely. 

At this last thought, however, Dumbledore was looking at Pansy with a sad expression. "I am afraid, Harry that what you have just said is indeed very important. It is my fear that your father, Pansy, has told Voldemort about you and Harry becoming rather close. This makes you a target. And if he is to attack the school, I believe he will try to get Harry out and away from my protection. To do this he will likely lure those that Harry loves away because he knows that Harry will go after them."

Pansy looked at Harry with a mix of shock and sadness. Harry however did not see this. A surge of anger had welled up inside him that he couldn't ignore. "More like he knows how stupid I am, how I always have to play the hero, right!" Harry yelled. Pansy let go of his hand. He couldn't believe Dumbledore had just said what he did. He was fuming with anger.  

"Harry," Dumbledore spoke in his forever calm voice, "You cannot let your anger get the best of you. Loving your friends is not a bad thing and wanting to save them if they are in trouble is not stupid, it is brave and noble. You are a Gryffindor after all."

Harry was not hearing a word coming out of the headmaster's mouth. He was so angry that there was a funny ringing noise in his ears. He would have loved nothing more than to punch Dumbledore full on. 

That was the last thing he remembered before his scar burst open. 

Dumbledore noticed the look on Harry's face change from indignant anger to one of pure, unfiltered hate. His normally green eyes seemed restrained behind fiery ones. When Harry reached for the headmaster's arm, Dumbledore had no time to react. Harry now had his arm in a vice-like grip and wasn't letting go. Pansy stood back horrified at what was happening in front of her, yet she couldn't help but marvel at how calm Dumbledore was being. 

"Harry, let go of my arm," his voice was even and calm. 

Then Harry spoke in a voice very much unlike his own. "You fool. You can not begin to imagine what I have in store for you. Mark my words…you will all die."

"You do not have to do this Tom. It is not too late. Leave the boy now or I will be forced to act." Dumbledore's voice was no longer calm but instead it was harsh and warning. 

"You couldn't kill me two years ago and you won't now. That will be your undoing." Then Harry's whole body went limp and he was unconscious once more. 

Pansy couldn't recall being as scared as she was in those few minutes. But she was also confused. _'Why did he call Harry 'Tom'?'_ she thought. She walked slowly to the bed and looked at Harry's face. He looked tired and worn out. She gently pushed aside the hair on his forehead and noticed that his scar was almost red. She finally got the courage to ask what she had been wondering. 

"Professor, what just happened? Is he going to be alright?"

"Unfortunately, he will be unconscious for a while. I am afraid that these events have taken a lot out of him."

"But what happened? Why was he acting that way? And why did you call him 'Tom'?"

"Miss Parkinson, the person you just saw grab hold of my arm was not Harry. The Dark Lord possessed him." 

She couldn't take that news. It was all swimming around in her head: her father, You-Know-Who, Harry possessed, her a possible target. Dumbledore's words were dancing unpleasantly in her head, '_he will likely lure those that Harry loves away…Does he really?'_ That was he last thought before she fainted. 

Someone was listening outside the doors of the hospital, but he went unnoticed. He quickly turned on his heel and went to his common room. After all, he had a very important letter to write to his father.  

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Well, that's all folks! Hope you liked! It seems to me that an awful lot of people faint/pass out in this fic…oh well…it's for the good of the story I suppose. Please tell me what you think. I love the feedback. I welcome all reviews: long, short, skinny, fat…I'm not biased. 


	14. Dumbledore's Plan

Hey I'm back for another chapter. I think I feel the end of this fic coming soon. I hope it turns out good. This will be the very first fic that I've ever done and finished. I started another one before I even thought of this one but I'm gonna remove that one and start over. It's gonna have the same plot and general story line but I'm gonna change the characters. I think I'll make it HG/DM, if I think I can pull it off. But anyway…enough of my rambling and on with the story. 

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K… unless I made them up. Duh!

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Chapter 14

Once he reached the common room he looked to make sure there was no one watching him. He pulled out a piece of parchment and started writing the letter. 

Father, 

I heard Dumbledore talking to Potter and Pansy. I think Potter had a vision of some kind. He saw one of your meetings and he knows that the Dark Lord is planning to attack the school in June. I thought I should warn you. 

                                                                                                                                                   Draco

Once he was finished he went straight to the owlry to send it. Quite pleased with himself he returned to the common room. 

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The next few days went by rather quickly for Harry. He constantly had to go to the hospital wing to get some cooling potion to put on his scar which kept burning more than usual. He also kept getting called out of class to go to Dumbledore's office. They wouldn't tell the professors why. The only teachers who knew why were McGonagall and Snape. The truth was that they were holding secret Order meetings and they needed Harry there to tell them exactly what he heard. He would always have to leave directly after this, but from what he could gather, they were discussing two things: how they could formulate a defense against dementors and giants, and him. It was clear that Dumbledore had told the others what had happened that day in the hospital room. Harry saw the way that they looked at him, with slight apprehension and fear. However, he could not allow himself to get angry. Dumbledore had explained to him that his anger might have strengthened the connection between himself and the Dark Lord, which is what allowed him to become possessed.  

It was a few days after the incident that Harry finally decided to tell Ron and Hermione what he had heard. He figured that since their lives were in danger also, the deserved to know. After all, he didn't want anything bad to happen to them even if he was angry at them. The conversation had gone exactly how he thought it would. Ron completely freaked out and Hermione remarked "Oh, Harry!" before apologizing for everything and hugging him until he thought he wouldn't be able to breathe. But at least, now they knew. 

Pansy's days went by a little slower. The weight of being a target of the Dark Lord's was visibly stressing her. Harry tried his best to comfort her but what could he say? He couldn't tell her that everything would be alright because what if it wasn't. What if they all died? What if Harry wasn't able to vanquish the Dark Lord and the entire wizarding world was wiped out. These were just a few of the worries on Harry, Pansy, Ron, and Hermione's minds. 

There was, however, another person who also walked around differently. Draco was acting very smug these days. And it all started after he received a letter one morning. 

He had anxiously been awaiting the reply from his father even since he had sent him the warning. When it finally came he made sure no one else could read it. It was a very short note and only read: You will be repaid for your loyalties, son. Unfortunately, for Draco, he wasn't very good in coming up with a way to destroy this letter. One night in the common room, Pansy was sitting on the couch reading and Draco came to join her. He had the parchment in his hands and he pulled out his wand. He opened it up and said _incendio_. This caused the parchment to immediately catch fire. Before it was burned to the crisp, Pansy was able to see what the note said. When she let out a gasp and Draco looked at her, she told him she had a stomach ache and was going to the nurse. In reality, she went straight to Dumbledore's office and told him. This put an extremely heavy load on his shoulders. When was Voldemort going to attack now? 

The day after Pansy had delivered her message to the headmaster, he decided it was time to warn the staff. He called a staff meeting one day while all of the students where eating dinner in the Great Hall. One by one the students saw their teachers disappearing to a chamber that was connected to the hall. Only three Gryffindors and two Slytherins could guess why. 

"He's going to tell them," said Hermione in a whisper. 

"Yup," was all Harry could say in return. 

*In the chamber*

"It is my unfortunate duty to tell you all grave news. Lord Voldemort is planning to attack Hogwarts." With this said Professor Flitwick gave a small squeak of horror and fell off his chair. All the other professors while looking just as shocked said nothing but listened intently. "He has allied himself with the dementors and the giants. He also has a few hundred death eaters supporting him. Now you might ask yourselves why I do not simply evacuate the school. My answer is only this: Voldemort wants Harry dead and this school destroyed. And if he can kill our students while doing it, he will. Therefore, simply shipping the students off on the next train home will not cut it. Voldemort could attack the train just as simply as he could attack the school, but at least the school is our territory. I have a few ideas that will help us, but I need to know if you are all willing to fight for our school when it is obvious that some will perish." 

Dumbledore looked around the room and saw only nods of agreement so he continued. "We must try to find all the help that we can get. I propose that we try and get the centaurs on our side. I know that they are a very proud race of creatures, but I believe that if we can explain to them what would happen if Voldemort should win this battle, they will agree to help, if not for us then for themselves. They view the forest as their own and they would not let anyone do any harm to it." Again he received nods of agreement. "What I am about to ask of you is very serious. I need for each of you to contact your friends, family, and anyone that you trust who will be a help to our cause. We need more wizards. I know that many people will not be willing to fight, which is why I ask you to fully explain to them the risk if they decide to help. Now, we need to get the students prepared." With this statement some of the professors shifted uncomfortably in their seats. "It is obvious that the smallest children should not be told what is happening. When the attack comes they will be hidden safely in their common rooms. Then we will magically seal the portraits locked so that no one may enter, and we shall also put a silencing spell on the rooms so that they will not hear what is happening and be tempted to help. The only problem is, how to get the students into the common rooms at the right times. Does anyone have any suggestions?"

Professor McGonagall was the first to speak. "Perhaps we can make a challenge out of it. We can tell them that the house who returns to their common rooms the quickest will get some kind of reward," she suggested. 

Then Professor Vector, the arithmancy teacher spoke up. "Yes, we could have a certain sound that signals when they are to go to their rooms. They'll simply think it's a game." 

"That is a good idea," said Dumbledore. "Now the only thing we need to decide, which will not be simple, is…who will fight?" Dumbledore mentioned no students, but everyone knew that's what he was talking about. No one wanted to speak. Everyone felt as thought choosing the students would be like sealing their fate. Only Snape was the bravest to say what they were all reluctantly thinking. "Headmaster, I think we all know who should fight. The problem is how young, is too young. I for one think that anyone in fifth year and above should be more than capable of learning to defend themselves in any situation." 

"Sadly, Severus I agree. Does anyone disagree?" When no one responded he continued, "Well then it is settled. We will need to tell the younger students about our challenge for them. Once they have gone, we will tell the older students that all classes here on out shall be devoted to self defense. I have a list of things that should be taught in each class that I will give you in a moment. Does anyone have any questions or comments," Dumbledore finished. 

Only one whisper was heard, "Merlin be with us."

Dumbledore nodded solemnly then with a flick of his wand a stack of parchment appeared in his hands. He handed one to each professor who intently looked it over. McGonagall saw that her main job was teaching the students how to transfigure large, live animals into smaller, harmless ones. Flitwick was in charge of teaching them charms that would make inanimate objects come to life and be able to protect them, much like how Dumbledore made the fountain come to life in the ministry of magic. Snape looked at his list, if you could call it a list because there was only one thing on it: invisibility potion. This made him rather upset. Why was he only given one thing? He didn't realize that his one item was more important than any of the other lists combined. 

"Headmaster, I couldn't help but notice that there is only one thing on my list."

"Ah, yes Severus. Alas, it may be only one, but it is by far the most important." At this statement, everyone had stopped looking at their lists to listen. "I did not tell you all this part of my plan in case it was not possible. But, it was my hope that Severus, along with his students, would be able to make enough invisibility potion for all those who are to fight. It may be the only way for us to come out of this fight victorious. I am aware that it is a difficult potion that you usually only make with your N.E.W.T. level class, but I am asking you to also make it with your other students. We need enough for everyone. Do you understand the importance of this?"

"Of course headmaster."

At that moment Harry came charging into the room, sending poor Flitwick right off of his chair again. 

As soon as he recovered his breath he was able to speak. "Professor, I know who can help us fight the giants!" he said. 

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at him. "Well," he asked gently. 

"I don't know why I didn't think of it before. I only just remembered when Hermione mentioned she hasn't seen Hagrid in a while."

"Mr. Potter, would you kindly get to the point," Snape said becoming impatient.

"Grawp!"

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Well, I hope you liked it. I think I'm going a little too far with the whole war on Hogwarts thing, but I think it will make the story more exciting. Oh, and I know I'm a little off the Harry and Pansy topic, but don't worry it will be back very, very soon. I also hope you realize that since this is a war, there will be casualties. I have them decided for the most part but not completely. I have no intention of killing off my two stars (harry and pansy, duh!) but everyone else is fair game in my mind. Just a quick question, is there anyone you couldn't stand to see dead OR is there anyone you really want dead? I'm just curious. By the way, Grawp won't be the only character that will come back from another book to help. Who else is coming back? I'll give you a hint: Goblet of Fire. ;) 


	15. Exodus of Slytherin

I'm back again! I liked reading who you wanted to see die, and I was surprised that some of the people mentioned were exactly the ones I was thinking of getting rid of. We were thinking along the same lines on that, and also on the help that Dumbledore would try to find. I also have a few others in mind. 

Disclaimer: Nope….nothing's mine.

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Chapter 15

"Grawp!"

"And just who or what is Grawp exactly?" Snape said with a menacing stare. 

"Grawp is a giant. He's Hagrid's little brother, well he's not so little, but he can help. He's been hiding in the forest since fifth year."

Dumbledore looked at Harry, surveying him as he always did, through his half moon spectacles. This irritated Harry. Didn't he believe him?

"Look, I know he can help! He has to be at least twenty feet tall, and he listens to Hagrid." 

"Very well, when Hagrid returns I shall ask him to try and convince Grawp to help. It will indeed prove useful."

"Where is Hagrid, by the way?" Harry asked curiously. 

"He is in France trying to convince Madame Maxime and her older students to help us in our fight against Voldemort." He looked around at the staff who looked slightly perplexed. "I did not tell you before because I thought it best to wait until we received a reply. It would be best not to get our hopes up. Harry, can you think of anyone else who might be of help to us?" Harry had no idea what he was talking about. How could he know someone that would help? Then realization hit him. 

"There might be someone. If Hagrid could convince him…but it would be dangerous…he could eat us too."

"Is this another one of Hagrid's friends," Snape asked icily. 

"Yes, his name is Aragog and he lives in the forest. He's a spider, a big one, and he has loads of children. Problem is I don't think we can control them. They'll only listen to him."

"Harry, we will need all the help we can muster. If that means I have to talk to him myself, then so be it," Dumbledore said. 

Snape, looking thoroughly put out, voice a rather unusual suggestion. "What about the merpeople?" 

"What about them?" said McGonagall. 

"Should we try to recruit them as well?" 

"That is an excellent suggestion, Severus," said Dumbledore. 

"It is? But how can they fight if their in the water?" asked Harry. 

"Ah, yes, but they do have spears. I assume that is what you were thinking, Severus." 

"Indeed, headmaster."

"Harry you should get back out there now. We will be out there in a few minutes to make a very important announcement." 

Harry walked out of the room wondering what the announcement could be. When he sat back down next to Hermione and Ron they gave him a questioning look. He only had time to tell them one word, 'Grawp,' before the teachers began to emerge from their room. One by one they sat at their respective seats each trying but failing miserably not to look too grim. When dinner was almost finished, Dumbledore got up to make an announcement. 

"May I have everyone's attention please? I have a rather important announcement to make." Though he said it was important, he was smiling as usual and looked as if nothing was wrong. "This year, the teachers and I thought it would be a nice change to have a different challenge, besides quidditch, going on amongst the houses." At the mention of a challenge, everyone became eager to hear more. "Only those students in fourth year and below will compete." With this said he received an audible groan from the older students. "The challenge will consist of a race, a race that everyone in fourth year and lower will have to complete. There will be a special sound made that will signal the beginning of the race. The catch is that the race will be inside the school and when you hear the sound, no matter where you are, even if you are in class, you are to run to your common rooms. Each house is responsible for making sure that every member of the house, in the before mentioned grades, reaches the common rooms. If even one person is left behind, your house loses. The special sound that you will listen for is very simple and will be loud enough to be heard throughout the entire castle. The sound is… the roar of an animal, and it will sound like this," he waved his wand and the most deafening roar filled the air. It sounded as though there were a thousand lions and tigers in the hall at that very moment. "As you can see, there will be no mistaking this sound. Now, would you like to know what you are playing for?" He received a great roar, this time from the students, of approval. "We will have several races; the winning house from each individual race will receive one hundred points for their house. However, the house that wins the most races altogether, will not have to take the end of the year exams." 

Cheering erupted from all of the younger students, while the older ones looked quite glum. "I thought we could do a test run now since it is time for bed anyway," said Dumbledore. "Remember; do not go until you here the sound. Also remember that the sound may come at any time, on any day." After he said this he sat down and began eating again. The students were a little confused. Then without warning…ROAR! There was a mass of students running out of the hall. Harry saw Dumbledore wave his wand and mutter something towards the doors. Then he saw that students were literally bouncing off of the walls. Dumbledore had put a spell on the doors and the walls to stop anyone from getting hurt. Dumbledore also said a few more spells, which were unclear to anyone. After a few minutes a loud voice yelled 'Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw!' Dumbledore then magically magnified his voice and said, "Congratulations to Hufflepuff for being the first house back! That will be one hundred points to them. Better luck to the rest of the houses for next time." The older Hufflepuff students that were left in the great hall applauded their younger counterparts. 

"Now that the small children have gone to bed, there is something I must discuss with the rest of you," Dumbledore began. "Since the young children will have their race to keep them occupied, I think it only fair for you to have your defense classes to keep you busy." The older students perked up at once. "In all of your classes, for the remainder of the year, you will be practicing defense techniques. For example, Professor Flitwick will be teaching you how to charm large object to move in case you ever need a shield. Professor McGonagall will be teaching you how to transfigure large animals into smaller ones, in case you ever come across and unfriendly brute. I trust this will keep you plenty busy." 

Everyone in the hall looked very eager to be learning these things. However, only a few students knew the real reason that they were learning these things. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Pansy, and even Draco, knew what these lessons were really for. And as soon as Dumbledore dismissed the rest of the students, Draco knew he had another letter to right. 

Harry walked Pansy as far down to the dungeons as he dared to go. "I guess it's really starting isn't it?" she said. 

"Yeah," Harry said looking at her. 

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

Harry leaned in to kiss her, something he had wanted to do for quite some time, but she turned her head so he only ended up kissing her cheek. A little angry he said, "Yeah, tomorrow," and he turned to walk away. 

Pansy was mentally kicking herself all the way to the common room. '_You idiot! Don't you want him to kiss you?'_  She knew she wanted to, but she also knew that she shouldn't let herself get to close, after all, what if he died? 

When Pansy walked into the common room, those thoughts evaporated as she saw Draco sitting and writing a letter. She tried to act as though she never saw him and she headed straight to her room. 

Draco didn't hear Pansy come in. When he had finished his letter, he put it away to send it first thing in the morning. 

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A few days passed in which there were three more 'races.' Gryffindor had ended up winning once, and Slytherin had once twice. Now the only house that hadn't won was Ravenclaw. Dumbledore worried that they might not be quick enough to get out of the way in time for the assault. Dumbledore had told Snape to hold off on the invisibility potion in his classes, but he did tell him to start brewing it himself in as large quantities as he could. Dumbledore wanted to make sure that their main weapon was not given away by a spy, namely Draco. However, that became the least of Dumbledore's worries. 

It happened the first week of February. During breakfast, Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers couldn't help but notice that every one of the students at the Slytherin table had received a letter. They also noticed many different emotions upon seeing the students read said letter. Some looked scared, others angry, some looked determined. It was not until later that day that Dumbledore found the reason behind these letters. 

He was sitting in his office when the letters started coming. One by one they came, all saying the same thing: _I will be coming to retrieve my child from school. I know they will benefit more elsewhere._ It was no coincidence that every letter was from a parent with a child in Slytherin. It was also no coincidence that the only Slytherin parent who had not sent a letter was Maximus Parkinson. Dumbledore began to think. If he didn't want her at home like the rest of the Slytherins, then they must need her at Hogwarts for some reason. Then it dawned on him: to lure Harry away. It also dawned on him that the only reason these parents were coming to get their children was so that they could train them in the dark arts, train them to fight…against Hogwarts. 

Pretty soon the teachers weren't the only ones who noticed about the Slytherins. One by one each Slytherin was leaving. Not many people complained, hell, some even cheered when they walked into the great hall and saw the entire Slytherin table empty, save for one, Pansy. Everyone wondered why she too had not gone. Harry had asked her to come sit with him at the Gryffindor table many times, but she had refused always giving an excuse about Ron and Hermione not wanting her there. Harry would always reply with a cheerful 'screw them' but could not convince her. It was a while before they realized the real reason that all the Slytherins had gone. 

Dumbledore had to explain that the 'race' was still on between the other houses. He also told Snape that it was okay to start making the invisibility potion. Dumbledore dreaded the day that he would have to tell the students what the potion was for. 

A few bits of good news were able to cheer him up slightly. Hagrid had returned, saying that Beaubatons was eager to help. He told Dumbledore that Madame Maxime was waiting for orders on when her and her students should come. It would be just like the Triwizard tournament; she was brining her oldest students. Dumbledore sent word that she should come immediately so that her students should also have the benefit of learning the defenses that his students were learning. The other bit of good news was that the centaurs and the mermaids agreed to help. It had been much more difficult to convince the centaurs than the mermaids. Hagrid was also working with Grawp, and he was supposed to talk to Aragog soon. Dumbledore was beginning to feel as thought they might have a chance. He figured that if the Slytherins were being trained in the dark arts that would take some time. Hopefully enough time.  

It was only at the end of February when Madame Maxime arrived with her students, and when various family members and friends along with Order members had arrived, that Dumbledore told his students the real reason behind the defense classes. He thought many would be frightened and would want to go home, but on the contrary, every student in every house felt determined to help save the wizarding world. For once, Harry did not feel alone in having to save the wizarding world. 

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How was that? I can't wait until I get to the actual war. It's going to be very dramatic…I hope. I'm saving Harry and Pansy's first kiss for the best moment. It will be the most intense thing ever. I'll just say this… a kiss is a very powerful thing. ;)      


	16. The Battle

I'm finally back to update again! So sorry this took so long! *Dodges a rock.* I started another story…I couldn't help it! My muse practically launched the idea into my head with a cannon. Anyway, I'm back now and I hope to finish this story in a chapter or so, but who knows it might take longer. Also, I intend for the war to be gruesome and bloody so I hope it comes across that way. Well, that's enough from me. 

A/N: this chapter contains some mild blood, guts and language. You have been warned. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

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Chapter 16

"I just got back from the forest professor and it wasn't easy but Aragog agreed to help. I convinced 'em tha' those death eaters weren' gonna let him an' his children live if they took over the grounds."

"That is excellent news, Hagrid. I believe we will stand a fighting chance. We must be ready for an attack any day now," said Dumbledore tiredly. 

It was now mid-March and every student in fifth year and above was working day in and day out to learn all of the defense spells they could. There was one class however, where everyone was working the hardest: potions. Though Dumbledore had told them most of the plans, he had not mentioned the invisibility potion. However, they knew why they were working on it and they also knew that the battle depended largely on this potion. It was really the only thing that would give them the upper hand against the death eaters that were trained to kill. Snape had made sure to pair up the classes in such a way that the less talented potions students were with someone who knew what they were doing. Even Neville was trying his best as he cut up the mandrake root into perfect equally sized cubes, as Hermione stirred the contents of their potion three times clockwise and twice counter-clockwise. 

Everyone was on edge knowing that the attack could come any day when they least expected it. However, day after peaceful day passed and all that could be heard throughout the castle was random spells coming from different class rooms as students learned new spells. Even the Beaubatons students had learned many new spells and had even taught some spells that the Hogwarts professors had never heard of. 

Finally, at the end of March, Snape told Dumbledore that his classes had made enough potion for every one. Dumbledore was elated. He told Snape to distribute the potion to each of the students in his classes first, and then whatever was left would be given to the adults. Every student took the potion from Snape with a grim nod. Snape then announced that everyone was to carry their potion with them at all times. They were given the orders that as soon as they heard the roar that signaled the race for the younger students they were to drink the potion immediately and prepare themselves for the battle. Dumbledore had put a spell on the castle that would trigger the alarm (the roar) if more that a certain number of people crossed the threshold of the school. Since no one was allowed outside, this meant that when the alarm sounded…the attack was on.

It was dinner time at Hogwarts. The enchanted ceiling was showing bright and vibrant stars in the clear night sky. Lately this had been a rather different affair now that there were so many new people in the school. The professors, parents (those that had come to fight), and Order of the Phoenix members (which included the entire Weasley family minus Ron who was sitting at the Gryffindor table) sat at the Slytherin table conferencing. Everyone else sat where they wanted. 

Pansy had finally agreed to sit at the Gryffindor table, not that she had much of a choice because the adults were using the Slytherin table, but Harry made her feel much more comfortable by sitting next to her at all times. Sometimes he would reach his hand under the table and take a hold of hers for support. She always smiled when he did this. Pansy had sworn to herself that she would not let herself feel anything for Harry because she was afraid that they were all going to die. However, she was failing miserably at this. She couldn't help but want him more every time she saw him. What she didn't know was that he felt the same. 

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"Ron, you're doing it wrong. You're supposed to move your wrist to the left first not the right." Hermione's exasperated voice could be heard clearly from the empty transfiguration class room. Ron had just made the cat they were working with grow an extra set of teeth instead of turning it into a butterfly. "Honestly, Ron, do you want to help us or the enemy? Why don't you give it sharper claws while you're at it?" The trio, plus Pansy, had taken this time during dinner in the second week of April to get in some extra practice time. Professor McGonagall had agreed to let them use the class room because she knew they would sneak out to use it any way if she said no. 

"Come on, 'Mione, how about some encouragement instead of yelling at me all the time. I get nervous when everyone's watching."

"Then I suppose it's a good thing we're all going to be invisible during the battle," Pansy said curtly. Harry put his head down to hide the smirk that was tugging at the corners of his lips. Pansy had never quite gotten over the fact that Ron and Hermione still annoyed her, and she never missed an opportunity to comment on their actions. 

Ron gave Pansy a sarcastic smile before saying, "Why doesn't someone else have a go? I think I'm just hungry."

"Ron, we just ate," said Harry as he moved his wrist the correct way and turned the cat into a butterfly. 

"Well, done Harry," Hermione beamed. "I still don't understand how this will help us in the battle. I mean, a person is a lot bigger than a cat."

"We did work with people once," said Pansy. "Besides, even if we can only transfigure the death eater half way, it's still better than a whole one. Just go for the head, that's what I'm gonna do."

"Yeah," Ron agreed, "Can you imagine seeing Lucius Malfoy with the head of a cat and the body of a fly?"

"That's physically impossible," said Hermione. "But it would be funny," she added as the absurdity of the statement sunk in.

They began talking about other people they would like to see in a transfiguration gone wrong. "Oooh, what about Crabbe and Goyle," said Pansy. 

"What's to transfigure, they're already whales," said Harry. Everyone burst out laughing. 

They agreed, much to Ron's delight, to stop be the Great Hall before dinner was over to get one last bite to eat before going to bed. They arrived in front of the doors in no time. When they opened them they saw the usual scene of adults talking and students eating. They were halfway to the Gryffindor table when-

ROAR!!!!!!!

They froze in their spots before jumping out of the way the let the speeding younger years race to their common rooms. Everyone looked at Dumbledore who had stood up when the alarm had sounded. A magnified voice yelled, "Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw!" All of the younger years were safely in their common rooms. A loud banging was heard out side on the grounds… they were trying to break down the doors. Dumbledore quickly said a spell that locked all of the common room entrances then looked around at the eager, worried, and determined faces around them. 

"Merlin be with you," was all that he said before drinking his potion and vanishing from sight. 

Everyone followed suit, and one by one they all disappeared from each others view. Only Ron, Hermione, Harry and Pansy could see each other. They had fixed, well Hermione had fixed while the other three watched worriedly, their potion so that they would be able to see each other while they were invisible. They could not, however, see anyone else who was invisible. 

"The adults will follow me!" yelled Dumbledore's disembodied voice. The doors to the hall opened, seemingly by themselves, and foot steps could be heard exiting the hall. 

The banging became louder and louder. 

"This is it guys, are you ready?" asked Harry. Hermione was visibly shaking but looked determined. Ron, who was standing next to Hermione holding her hand, looked as if he was about to face a load of spiders. Pansy looked determined…and sad. 

Harry grabbed Pansy's shoulders and turned her to face him. A sheet of blonde hair covered her face as she stubbornly looked at the floor. 

"Look at me damn it!" he yelled. Slowly, she looked up. "Nothing is going to happen to me or any of us, you hear me?" 

"You can't promise that," she whispered. 

"Yes I can," he said just as stubbornly. By now Ron and Hermione were paying close attention to the two.

Blood chilling screams were heard from outside. Everyone turned their heads to look at the open doors except Harry. "I love you." Pansy's head snapped back to look at him. His green eyes locked with moist blue ones.

"Y-you do?"

 "Yes, and I promise I will do this again." He put his arm around her waist and held her close. 

"Harry," she whispered. Their lips finally touched. Time seemed to freeze. Their bodies felt electrified, it was the warmest, happiest feeling either of them had ever known. It was then that they realized how much they really needed each other. They wanted to go on exploring each other. She tasted so good to him, fresh and sweet. He felt like he was tasting her soul. She felt so protected by him she never wanted to stop. Her hands were moving across his back and up to his hair.  However, they were wrenched apart by Ron and Hermione yelling. 

"Come on we have to move!" yelled Hermione. 

And move is what they did as a hundred death eaters swarmed the great hall. Harry and the others made sure not to hit anyone on their way out. When they reached the hall way it was clear why the death eaters were running. The doors that lead onto the ground were wide open and on the surface of the lake heads could be seen bobbing up and down. The merpeople were launching spears at every death eater they could reach. Bodies were every where on the grounds. As they reached the lake they saw something that threatened to make them wretch. In fact, Hermione did wretch. A death eater had taken a spear and severed a merman's tail with it. The bloody torso of the man was five feet away from his tail. In retaliation, one of the mermaids had launched a spear at the death eater and she hit her target. The death eater was pinned to a tree with the spear through his stomach, as his intestines littered the ground. 

The two couples ran back inside to join the battle. They entered to find death eaters apparently dueling thin air. Spells were flying in all direction, it was chaos. Every so often a death eater would fall; every so often a disembodied scream would be heard. 

The four ran forward to help in any way that they could. Hermione sent a stunning spell towards the back of one of the death eaters and she quickly fell forward. She heard a growl of thanks that could only be from Mad-Eye Moody. They continued to push their way through the crowd sending spells towards random death eaters. Harry and Pansy lead the way hand in hand while Hermione followed. 

Then out of no where, Dumbledore's voice could be heard. "Away, stay away from my students!" They looked up the stair cases and saw several death eaters trying to get passed the Hufflepuff portrait a few floors above. Then they felt someone pass them and they knew it must be the headmaster, because seconds later, the death eaters went flying backwards away from the portrait. 

Body after body, the death eaters kept falling. Harry was beginning to think that they might actually win this. His thoughts however were interrupted as the entire castle shook. 

BANG!!! The castle was shaking as if there was an earth quake. BANG!!! A few stones fell from the ceiling narrowly missing Ron's head. BANG!!! The entrance doors were ripped off of their hinges as four giants tried to make their way into the school. They could not fit through the doors and instead settled themselves for swiping their massive hands at anyone who ran by. 

 A scream echoed in the entrance hall. "Help! Someone help me!!!!" a female voice yelled. Harry and Ron recognized the voice as that of Angelina Johnson. They ran forward to help but before they got far they heard a sickening crunch as one of the giants smashed his hand against the wall. When the giant moved his hand all that could be seen was blood dripping down the wall, and the crumpled and bloody form of the ex-chaser's body lying on the ground.

"Angelina! NO!" Harry yelled. 

"Harry, wait! Why can we see her?" Ron yelled as Hermione cried on his shoulder. 

Through the sobs Hermione was able to say, "The potion wears off when you-you …die!"

No sooner than she said it did the dead and bloodied forms of Hogwarts students start to appear. Hermione and Pansy screamed in horror as Dean Thomas's body appeared next to them with a great gash across his face and stomach. 

CRACK!! The sound of apparating could be heard in the distance. 

"I thought you couldn't apparate on school grounds!" yelled Pansy over the chaos. 

"Dumbledore must have taken that spell off so that we could!" answered Hermione. 

They turned around to see the giants moving out of the way and letting more death eaters in. However, theses death eaters looked different, smaller somehow. 

"The Slytherins!" yelled Harry. 

He wanted nothing more than to get back at the lot of them, especially Malfoy. As they ran forward, they ducked spells that had been sent their way. They had given away their position be yelling. They ducked and sent spells at the same time. It didn't take long before the Slytherins retaliated. Pansy was almost hit by a jet of silver light but Harry was able to pull her out of the way. 

Once again Dumbledore yelled, "Teachers, spare the students!" he was of course referring to the Slytherins. 

_Spare them,_ Harry thought, _I'm going to curse them all._

As he ran forward he heard a scream from behind him. This time it was a man who screamed. He turned around to see the decapitated body of Lupin falling to his knees while his head rolled a few feet away.

"REMUS, NO!!!!!!" Harry couldn't stand it any more he couldn't just sit back and let all these people die. He turned to run outside. 

"Harry where are you going?!" yelled Pansy. 

He pushed his way through the mob of Slytherins and made his way outside followed closely by Pansy, Ron, and Hermione. Once outside he yelled, "You want me Voldemort, then come and get me!!!"

Then without warning dementors started to appear. "Sending them to do your dirty work! EXPECTO PATRONUM!!!" he yelled. The silver stag erupted from his wand and began to drive back the dementors. He heard the others behind him saying the spell also. Surprisingly, he saw three more patronuses charge the dementors. There was a silver otter, a fox and a bear. The four patronuses drove the dementors back towards the lake where the merpeople tried but failed to spear them. The spears did little except make the dementors angry. One of them grabbed a mermaid from the lake by her neck and gave her the dreaded kiss. The mermaid visibly paled and then the dementor threw her limp form to the ground. 

"There he is, get him!!!" an all too familiar voice yelled from behind them. It was Malfoy leading the group of Slytherins outside. It was too late to hide. The potion had worn off. 

"Not so tough without your potion are you Potter?" drawled Malfoy, while looking at Pansy furiously. "And you bitch! You betrayed your family for that?! You'll pay!" 

"Go fuck yourself Malfoy!" Harry yelled. "Cambio mortis!" Harry yelled. 

Malfoy ducked and the spell hit Crabbe. Crabbe yelled in agony as he sprouted what appeared to be dog legs from out of his stomach and cat legs from his own   legs. 

"You were right Hermione," Harry said, "It _is_ much harder on a person. And here I was trying to turn him into a fish, oh well."

All at once the Slytherins began to launch spells. The four ran as they tried to do shielding charms at the same time. Hermione brilliantly transfigured Hagrid's hut to move far enough to shield them, as they ran into the forest. 

Back near the castle the Slytherins had stopped launching their spells. "We forced them into the forest. Our job is done. Now it's up to the Dark Lord to finish them off," Malfoy said with a malicious grin. 

"Of all the places to run, why did we come in here?" said Ron. 

"Well it was either that, be torn apart by the Slytherins, or be kissed by the dementors. Your welcome to go back if you like but I'd rather take my chances in here." said Harry. 

They walked until they were in a small clearing. There was a small patch of grass in the middle and it was surrounded by trees. The four lit their wands as they sat down. 

"I can't believe this is happening," said Hermione. "All those people…dead." 

Harry had his head in his hands. It had happened again. Lupin was dead and there was nothing he could do about it. He fought back the furious tears that itched at is eyes. Then he felt a comforting hand rubbing his back. He looked up and saw Pansy looking back at him, tears rolling freely down her face. He looked at Hermione and Ron and saw that they were also crying. For the first time he felt like he didn't need to be brave and he just broke down. He cried for what felt like an eternity while Pansy wrapped her arms around him. Ron and Hermione did the same. 

They didn't know how long they were in the forest and every so often they would here a bang issue from the castle. After a while Pansy asked the question on everyone's mind. "When should we go back?"

No one wanted to answer. Then a voice from the bushes answered for them. 

"You are not going anywhere," Voldemort emerged from the bushes closely followed by Maximus, Patricia, William, and Lucius. 

The four teens jumped up at once, but before they could even get one spell off, Lucius had stunned them all…except Harry. Harry got the cruciatus curse from Voldemort. Before the excruciating pain set in, Harry could make out William and Patricia floating Ron and Hermione's bodies in one direction, while Maximus and Lucius floated Pansy's body in the opposite direction. When the spell was lifted Harry looked up to see Voldemort disappear with a swish of his black cloak. 

_What am I supposed to do now? _As if reading his mind, he heard Voldemort laugh and say, "I wonder who he will try to save first." Then he heard the other death eaters laughing as well. 

When he had gathered the strength to yell, he said, "You sick, twisted fuck! If you're going to kill me just get it over with!" 

"Oh, but then you wouldn't be able to play our little game, and we went through so much trouble to make this possible. I had to stage an entire attack." More laughing was heard. 

_If he wants a game, I'll give him a game. Besides if he wanted to kill me he would have done it already._ "Ready or not here I come!" Harry said as he picked himself up off of the ground.

He headed towards where he saw Maximus taking Pansy. After all, at least Ron and Hermione had each other. Pansy had no one…except him. 

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How was that? I think it went pretty well. I foresee only one or two more chapters for this fic. I hope you all like how I end it. Did I do good with the blood and guts? Hey, I tried. Review, review, review, review…and please review!!!    


	17. In the Forbidden Forest

I'm so sorry this took so long. But, let me put it to you this way…writer's block and procrastination should never meet. 

Disclaimer: we've sooooo been over this already. I don't own it!

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Chapter 17

Voices could be heard. The angry whispers of a man and a woman cut through the silence of the forest. 

"How could he do this to his own daughter?" the woman whispered obviously infuriated. 

"Patty, just clam down, they won't do anything to her," said a man in a very unconvincing tone. 

"William, you know perfectly well that they will if they have to."

"But she was going to become a death eater anyway. She could have died for the cause at any time."

"There is a difference between dying for the cause and being _murdered_ for the cause. I knew that Maximus had a grudge against me but this is going too far. Pansy has never done anything to him to deserve this." The woman sounded close to tears. 

"Sshh. Listen to me. If the Dark Lord wanted to kill her he would have done so already. Besides, Potter would not go after her if he thought she was dead, he would be on his way over here to save _them_." He motioned to the floor where the supposedly unconscious forms of Ron and Hermione lay. "I don't understand why we needed them anyway," he continued, "We all knew that he would choose to look for Pansy instead."

"It was just a precaution, in case my no-good, psychotic ex-husband had been wrong," the woman said irritably. 

"Even so, can't we get rid of them now? At least the mudblood?" 

"No…we must wait for our orders."

Hermione lay deathly still while listening to the conversation. She obviously guessed that Patricia was Pansy's mother but she didn't know who the other man was. Frankly she didn't care. All she cared about was getting away from them. She opened her eyes just a crack so that she could see if Ron was next to her. He was, and from the look on his face he had also been listening to the conversation. Hermione very slowly, carefully, and quietly moved her hand and grabbed Ron's. His eyes shot open and luckily Patricia and William had their backs to the two teens. Hermione put her other finger to her mouth signaling Ron to be quiet. She was trying t come up with a plan to escape and she could tell he was doing the same. She felt inside her robes and saw that they had taken her wand; Ron did the same and ended up with similar results. They both started to look around and the only thing that even came close to a weapon was a few rocks that lay near them. Hermione pointed to the rocks and then at the two adults. Ron, catching her drift, began to move slowly towards the rocks not making a sound. They each grabbed the two biggest ones they could find, which were roughly the size of a quaffle, and stood up carefully. Luckily, the part of the forest they were in had no leaves or twigs on the floor. 

They were a foot away when Patricia and William turned around. SLAM! Ron and Hermione swung the rocks with all of their might. Both rocks made loud and painful contact with the respective adults head and they crumpled to the floor. Ron's had hit William square on top of his head which was now bleeding profusely. Hermione had hit Patricia on the side of the face. With all of the bruising and the blood it was clear that she had broken her jaw possibly along with the rest of her face. Hermione dropped the rock and threw herself at Ron. 

"Oh, Ron. That was horrible. I can't believe Harry just left us," she cried. 

"He probably figured that we at least have each other, but Pansy doesn't have anyone."

Hermione looked at him slightly shocked. Ron was never the reasonable one. "I must be rubbing off on you, Ron, you're starting to make sense," she said as she hugged him tightly. "We should probably get our wands back," she said. They walked over to the now unconscious Patricia and William and took their wands as well as their own wands.  

"Come on, let's go find Harry." They set off into the forest. 

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Harry stopped just before he entered the dense trees. He shook his head to clear his mind and gave one last glance back towards the opposite side of the clearing. _They'll be fine_, he thought trying to convince himself. He took one step into the trees and it was already considerably darker than the clearing had. He took out his wand and lit it. _Wait, I have my wand. Why didn't he take it away from me? He's either crazy or…no, he's just crazy. I'm going to make him sorry that he left me my wand._

He walked with his wand held out right in front of him. He could only see a few feet in front of him at a time. The ground was littered with rocks and twigs and leaves, they would be sure to hear him coming from a mile away. He tripped a few times but hadn't actually fallen until… with out warning, the ground had changed. It was no longer hard and filled with twigs. It was soft and difficult to walk on. Harry tried taking a step with much difficulty. He had to use his hands to get his foot out of the ground. Then he had to do the same with his other leg. It was a minute before he realized he was sinking.

 _Sinking?!…oh no quick sand!_ He had remembered seeing quick sand once in a muggle movie the Dursely's had watched over the summer. He knew that struggling would only make it worse. He heard Hermione's voice in his head, '_Stop moving, if you don't it'll only kill you faster._' He knew this wasn't devil's snare, but the concept was the same. He tried not to panic, which was hard because he was now stuck up to his waist in the muck, as he looked around for something that might help. He caught the sight of a promising looking tree branch…if he could only reach it. "Accio branch!" he called. Unfortunately the branch was too thin and instead of bending so that he could reach it, it snapped in half. 

The muck was passed his belly button. He tried his luck again, as he set his sights on a thicker branch. "Accio branch!" and this time it worked. The branch bended just enough that he could grab it, but the battle was only half over. He now had to pull himself out of the quick sand which was still trying to eat him alive. 

He pulled with all of his might and the branch creaked ominously. He pulled and pulled until he was out of the sand. He heaved a sigh of relief as he lay face up on the ground trying to catch his breath. 

Then Voldemort's voice rang through the forest. "Bravo, Potter. I didn't think you were going to make it. That would have ruined the rest of the adventure that lies ahead." 

"Why don't you just come out and face me!" yelled Harry still lying on the ground. "Not scared of the boy-who-lived are you!?"

"Like I said before, I'll kill you after you've had your little adventure. Have fun." Then his high pitched laugh was heard through out the forest once more. 

Ron and Hermione jumped when they had heard Voldemort's voice. He sounded as though he were standing right next to them. However, Harry's reply was very distant and they couldn't really hear what he had said. They did, however, begin to move in the direction they had heard his voice coming from.

Harry picked himself up off of the ground for the second time and kept walking straight ahead. This time he was pointing his wand at the ground and being very careful where he stepped. This was a big mistake. He didn't see the arrow that had narrowly missed his arm but he sure heard it. He looked around and saw with horror that a centaur was approaching him, arrow and bow ready. He couldn't have been much older than Harry himself and he had a glazed look in his eyes. He shot another arrow. Harry ducked and the arrow hit the tree behind him and stuck. He hid behind another tree while he thought of a plan. Just then he heard Voldemort's voice once more. "Ah, the imperious curse. One of my favorites don't you agree?"

Harry realized that the centaurs were supposed to be helping. Had Voldemort managed to kill them all? Not wanting to waist any time, Harry jumped out from behind the tree and yelled "Impedimenta!" The centaur froze right as it was about to launch another arrow. "Stupefy!" Harry yelled. He didn't want to take any chances, as he didn't know how long the spell would wear off. He walked over to the unconscious centaur and conjured ropes from his wand. He tied him up and before he left took the bow and arrow. Another weapon wouldn't hurt. 

He continued walking as he wondered what else the Dark Lord had in store for him. He saw a light up ahead. It wasn't any bigger than a snitch but it was almost as bright as the sun. It lit up a beautiful little stream with green bushes and flowers around it. Harry had never thought that part of the Forbidden Forest could be pretty. He slowly walked to the stream and saw that the light hovered a few inches above the water. He looked left as he heard a rustling and saw a baby deer emerge from the bushes and begin to drink out of the stream. Harry was just about to sit down and enjoy the view when a voice in the back of his head yelled. 

_What are you doing?! You need to find Pansy!_ He clamped his eyes shut and shook his head. When he opened them again he saw that the entire scene that was there had disappeared. There was no stream, no bushes, and most certainly no deer. _It was an illusion. So that I would forget about Pansy,_ he thought. He mentally kicked himself for almost falling for it, and continued to walk through the forest. 

Pansy woke slowly and found herself on the dirty floor of the forest. She shifted herself to move away from a rock that had been painfully digging into her back. She raised her head a little to look around and saw that she was in the middle of a dense clump of trees. She stood up and swayed slightly. Once she had her balance she took a few steps forward only to be knocked back by some sort of force field. A few tries told her that there was only about a five foot radius that she had to walk in. She tried once more, had landed hard on her butt and was just about to get up when she saw three figures walking towards her. The three cloaked figures walked right through the force field with ease. 

"Who are you? What do you want?" she asked her voice shaking. 

"Don't you recognize your own father?" said the figure to the right as he took off his hood. Pansy gasped in horror as Lucius pulled down his hood followed by none other than Voldemort himself. 

The three men eyed her with disgust and hatred, but none more than her father. She looked at him with tear filled eyes but he simply laughed. "Don't expect any pity from me," he said venomously. 

"Do not worry," said Voldemort, "You're dear Potter will be here soon to rescue, excuse me, to _try_ and rescue you." Pansy let the tears roll down her face silently. She knew it was a trap and there was no way to warn Harry. She would probably be dead before Harry even got there. _I'm never going to see him again_, she thought miserably, _I'm never going to be able to kiss him again, and I won't be able to tell him---_

"AAAHHHHH!!!!!!!" Her thoughts were interrupted by the blood chilling scream that came from Lucius. 

She looked up and almost threw up at the sight of Lucius with an arrow straight through his chest. Blood was everywhere. Maximus had turned around looking for the source but had no luck. Another arrow came whizzing out of the trees narrowly missing his head. Voldemort was gone with a swish of his cloak leaving Maximus to fend off the attacker solo. Pansy had flattened herself to the floor for fear of being impaled. He was whirling around crazily sending random curses flying at the trees. It seemed like he made himself dizzy because he stopped moving. The attacker taking advantage of the moment of weakness launched another arrow at Maximus. This arrow found its target. Maximus was shot though the neck. He would have screamed in agony had the arrow not ripped his vocal cords. Pansy was sprayed with the blood of her dying father as his body hit the floor. She was crying harder than she was before. What if they attacked her next? 

She crawled on her stomach to the edge of the force field and tried to put her hand through. She pulled it back sharply as she felt the same burning sensation she had felt when she had first tried to go through. Not wanting to make herself an easy target she stayed on the floor and buried he face in her arms. Then she heard a voice yell '_diffindo'._  She looked up to see the force field disappearing around her. Just as she was about to get up, she saw a figure walking towards her. At first she thought it was Voldemort so she started to crawl away from the figure. As it neared, however, she noticed that it was too short to be Voldemort. She looked up at the figure curiously as it came out from behind the trees. 

She saw black hair…black unruly hair. Instantly she sprang up and ran towards Harry who still had wand and bow in hand. She hugged him with all her might, so hard in fact that he actually said 'ow' and pulled away. She pulled him right back and kissed him, again and again and again. He literally had to wrench her off of him. 

"I thought you were dead. I thought they were going to kill me too, and it was a trap and I knew I couldn't warn you, and-

Harry silenced her rambling with a soft kiss. "We really need to get out of here first," he said with a small smile. Looking around he said, "Where did Voldemort go?"

"I don't know. He disappeared when you started shooting."

"Do you have your wand?" 

Pansy felt her robes and shook her head. Harry walked over to the bodies of Lucius and Maximus and searched their robes. He grabbed both of their wands and handed Pansy's back to her. 

"Come on, we're leaving."

"What about Ron and Hermione? Where are they?"

"I don't know. When they attacked they stunned all of you and Voldemort did the cruciatus curse on me. I only saw your mum and some man floating Ron and Hermione some where and your father and Lucius took you in the opposite direction."

"And you came to look for me?" Pansy said as though she didn't believe it. 

"Yeah, I figured at least they have each other but you only have…well, me."

Pansy smiled and said, "Watch that ego, you almost sounded like Draco."

Harry looked disgusted at the thought. He took Pansy's hand and began to lead her in the way he hope was out of the forest. 

Ron and Hermione had heard Lucius' scream, followed shortly by Maximus'. Although they didn't want to, they started walking in that direction. They thought they heard whispers but figured it to be their imagination. Then they came upon the unconscious centaur that was tied up. Hermione gasped at the sight. Ron made the observation that he didn't have his bow anymore and they silently kept walking. Before long they had reached the clearing where Pansy and Harry had been. At the sight of the two bodies, Hermione almost broke down. They quickly kept walking through the forest trying to forget the sight they had just seen. 

Harry heard footsteps behind him. He grabbed Pansy's arm and pulled her down. She was going to question him but he put his hand over her mouth. The watched silently as two figures approached. 

"Do you think we're going the right way?" one of them whispered. 

"I hope so," the other one answered.

Pansy thought the voices sounded familiar. It was obvious that Harry didn't because he was readying his bow again. Pansy tried hard to remember the voices. It clicked just as Harry was about to fire the arrow. 

"Wait!" she yelled. 

Ron and Hermione jumped as they heard a voice call. They looked at some bushes and before they knew it, Pansy and Harry had jumped out from behind. 

"Harry! Oh my goodness," Hermione yelled as she threw her arms around him. 

"Good to see you too, Hermione," said Harry smiling bow still in hand. 

Ron looked at the bow, comprehension dawning on his face. "Harry, back there, Lucius and Maximus, you didn't-

"Yeah…I did," he answered. Hermione answered by saying 'oh, Harry' again and hugging him even harder. 

"I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad to see you two," said Pansy. 

Ron faked a look of surprise and put an arm around Pansy's shoulders. "We know you love us," he said. 

"Better you than Voldemort," she said removing his arm playfully and standing next to Harry again. 

"Did someone call?" said a high, cold voice behind them. 

The four teens slowly turned around and found themselves face to face with the most feared dark wizard in fifty years. 

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I just want to say sorry again for not updating sooner. I hope this makes up for it. I only see a few more chapters before I end my very first fanfic! Yay! I hope you'll be pleased with the results. I'm still not sure if I'll actually make Voldemort die or not. I'll need to think of a good way to do it before I decide. I just think that Voldie's death is going to be a really BIG thing in the books (if he dies, which he probably will) and I can't even imagine how J.K.R. is going to do it. Thanks again for reading and please review. 


	18. Harry's Plan

Firstly I want to thank SlytherinDamien who has been reviewing this fic from the beginning, I really appreciate it as this was my very first fic. There is probably only one more chapter and maybe a short epilogue after this one but don't hold me to that. I hope you like this next chapter!

Disclaimer: Repeat after me…Jarie1019 does not own any characters. Good…now you know…as if you didn't know before.

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Chapter 18

Face paler than the moon and eyes red as blood, Voldemort stood before them. They couldn't speak and they were paralyzed by fear. They seemed to stand there for hours but it was only a few seconds before Harry finally found his voice and yelled, "RUN!!!"

He grabbed Pansy's hand and dragged her into the woods. A quick glance behind him and he saw that Ron had done the same with Hermione. He had started to work out a plan before they had run into Ron and Hermione but it most certainly wouldn't work if they were standing right in front of Voldemort himself. So they ran as fast as their legs would carry them.

"Avada Kedavra!" Harry heard Voldemort's cold voice yell.

"Aaaahhhh!!!" An earth shattering scream filled the air. A girl's scream.

'_Hermione,_' Harry's mind registered. '_No! The bastard! I'll kill him!'_ He grabbed Pansy's hand harder and pulled her faster.

After what seemed like ages of running, Harry stopped dead in his tracks causing Pansy to crash into him with a small yell of surprise.

"Why are we stopping?" Pansy said breathlessly.

Harry turned around slowly and saw a pale faced Hermione with silent tears streaming down her face walking toward them.

'_Wait, Hermione's alive? Then…_Ron," he spoke his name out loud.

Hermione sunk down onto the floor of the forest and started sobbing silently. Harry walked over to her and enveloped her in a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry. I should've-" he whispered but Hermione cut him off.

"Don't…it's already bad enough without you blaming yourself too."

"I swear I'll kill him," he said savagely.

Pansy sat down next to Hermione and began rubbing her back comfortingly.

"I'm really sorry Hermione." She couldn't and didn't want to imagine what it would be like if Harry died.

She looked up at Pansy with watery eyes and whispered, "Thank you."

Out of nowhere Harry said, "We need to go. I have a plan." When they got up he continued. "Hermione, I need you to think of the strongest shielding spell you know and be ready to cast it when I say." She nodded with out any questions. "Follow me," Harry said.

Harry seemed to know where he was going which was more than could be said for Hermione and Pansy. They walked for about fifteen minutes before they reached a small clearing that was unfamiliar at first. After all, they hadn't seen it since fifth year when Hagrid showed them the….

Harry stood in the middle of the clearing and without warning cast a severing charm on his arm. It was a mild one so his arm wasn't cut off, but there was a gash that was bleeding quite freely.

"Harry what are you doing?!" Pansy shrieked.

He said nothing for a moment and only lifted his finger to his lips to signal her to be quiet. Then he slowly pointed to one of the bushes in front of him. In the bushes, three pairs of milky white eyes were staring back at them. They emerged slowly and headed towards Harry and began licking the blood off of his arm. Hermione and Pansy could see them now…the thestrals.

Harry spoke in a rushed whisper. "Listen, get on quick and tell them to take you to the astronomy tower."

There was a rustling in the bushes. "Hermione quick, the spell," Harry said as he mounted his thestral. Hermione quickly said the spell and mounted her thestral as Pansy mounted hers. They whispered their destination just as Voldemort had apparated in front of some bushes. He got there just in time to see them take off into the night sky. He stumbled as he tried to cross the force field, then he settled for launching random killing curses into the air. Luckily, the dense canopy of the forest prevented him from being able to aim properly.

Pansy saw a jet of green light emerge from the tree tops and was able to dodge it. "Watch out!" she yelled as it headed for Hermione and Harry, but they were able to move out of the way too.

They landed on top of the astronomy tower with a small clatter. "Hopefully he thinks we've gone a long way," said Harry as he got off of his steed. He was nearly tackled as Hermione and Pansy came towards him and hugged him in a vice like grip. He gave hem a small smile when they finally let go and said, "Come on. Let's check out the rest of the castle."

They walked down the steps of the tower and into the main castle. There were no bodies on this floor but the air was filled with the reeking smell of death. A quick journey down the flight of stairs and they were standing at the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room. The portrait was blasted off of its hinges and it lay smashed a few feet away. They braved a look inside and saw one dead death eater, Nott.

"Where is everyone?" Hermione whispered.

"I don't know. Let's keep going," answered Harry.

They continued down the stairs and didn't stop until they reached the entrance hall. It looked like a true war zone, bodied were everywhere. Death eaters lay dead and unmasked, students, teachers and centaurs were also among the dead. There was even a mermaid near the front entrance with her tail cut off. They did not even want to think how she go there.

The hid behind a suit of armor when they saw someone people emerge from the Great Hall. All that they could tell was that they were three adults and that they were headed in the direction of the Gryffindor common room. Once the people were out of sight, Harry, Hermione and Pansy came out from behind the suit and walked slowly towards the hall with their wands out. They cautiously peaked their heads around the doors, which were wide open, and saw the very last thing they expected. The hall looked as if it had been turned into a giant hospital wing. The four house tables were gone, only to be replaced by dozens of beds and chairs. Nearly all of the beds were occupied by the injured.

They sat there mouths gaping until a shrill shriek of delight brought them back to reality.

"Oh, thank Merlin! You're alive! But, where's Ron?" Molly Weasley had been the first to spot them, but her joy at seeing them alive had quickly been replaced by a worried face when she saw that Ron was not there.

"H-he's…" Hermione could not bring herself to say it; that would make it true.

"No, no, not Ron," Molly whispered shaking her head. "He has to be alright, he has to." She began to cry as Dumbledore came up beside her and tried to comfort her.

"Hermione, perhaps you could go with Molly and the rest of the Weasley's and explain what happened," Dumbledore said softly.

Hermione did something she had never done before. She looked at Dumbledore with pure anger on her face as if to say, "What could possibly make you believe that I could talk about it when it just happened less than an hour ago!"

Dumbledore understood her look exactly and said calmly, "I believe they deserve to know what happened.

Her face softened a little but she still walked away thinking, '_That doesn't make it any better.'_

"Now Harry, tell me everything."

Harry told Dumbledore everything he could remember about what had happened that night. He left out the part about killing Maximus and Lucius because he still had trouble believing he had done it. He did tell him about the quick sand, the centaur, Ron and their escape on the thestrals.

What Harry left out was the most important part…his plan. He had never stopped thinking about it since before the attack had even happened. He had not told anyone because he didn't want anyone to discourage him. He was sure it would work, and if it didn't then at least it would hopefully weaken Him. The problem was getting away from everyone long enough to try it.

Suddenly, a loud bang was heard from outside. Directly after, the entire castle shook. One glance out of the window and Hannah Abbot yelled, "It's Him! He sending spells straight at the castle! There's a huge hole in-" but Hannah never got to finish her sentence as a spell sent in her direction caused the entire wall to be obliterated talking poor Hannah with it. Everyone screamed and Harry knew it was time.

While everyone was distracted he tried to head for the doors but was spotted by Pansy before he could make it out.

"Harry where do you think you're going?" she asked afraid of the answer.

"I have to go. I have to do something. I can't just sit here and let more people die because of me." His voice was full of determination and anger but she didn't care.

"No, I won't let you go out there and be killed. You were right before…you _are_ all I have, don't take that away from me," he eyes were shining with new tears and her face was pleading.

It broke his heart to see her like this but it was now or never. To distract her he did the only thing he could think of, he kissed her. It worked well enough. She wrapped her arms around him and held on with all of her might. He broke the kiss and still hugging her he whispered, "I promise I'll come back."

"What?" she said confused.

"Petrificus totalus," said Harry and Pansy fell to the floor in a full body bind. He walked over to her and kissed her forehead, "I'm sorry but I have to go."

All Dumbledore saw was Pansy on the ground and the back of someone's head with jet black hair leaving the hall. He quickly walked towards the doors but when he went to push them open he couldn't. "Good luck Harry," was all that he whispered before he went to Pansy. "Finite incantatum."

Pansy became un-petrified and looked at Dumbledore blankly before realizing what must have happened. "Where did he go?" she asked looking around.

"To fulfill his destiny," said Dumbledore to no one in particular.

"And you let him?!" asked Pansy unbelievingly.

She got up off of the floor ran towards the doors but she couldn't open them so instead she went to Hermione who was still sitting with the Weasley family.

"Can I talk to you?" she said urgently.

Hermione followed her and asked what was so important.

"Harry's gone. He went to go fight Him."

"WHAT!" Hermione yelled horrified.

"And he did something to the doors so that we couldn't follow."

"Let's go to the windows, maybe we'll be able to see him."

Harry knew it was now or never. He walked out into the hallway and slowly made his way outside. Once again the castle shook and Harry was sure that somewhere another wall was missing.

Before he stepped outside he put the first part of his plan into action. He took what was left of the invisibility potion that Hermione had modified. Now that he was fully invisible, he stepped outside.

Voldemort had finally lost it…not that he was ever sane. The castle wall that he was standing in front of had so many holes in it that it strongly resembles Swiss cheese.

He felt it rather than saw someone watching him and he turned around. "Ah, Harry. So glad you could make it."

For one wild second Harry thought Voldemort could see him, that was until he said, "Why don't you come out and join me?"

Harry apparated with a loud crack to the tallest tower and yelled, "Why don't you join me!" At the same time that Voldemort apparated up to the tower, Harry apparated back down to the grounds. "What's wrong? Can't find me?!" he yelled. He made sure to keep moving so that his voice wouldn't give him away.

He decided that Hagrid's hut would have to do as a place for him to hide. He needed to concentrate. Every now and then he would send a random spell in the opposite direction to keep Voldemort thinking he was outside and moving around.

He concentrated harder than he had ever done in his life. Even harder than when Snape was trying to teach him occlumency. He briefly wondered if Snape was still alive but quickly pushed the thought aside.

It was working. How could he tell? Because his scar was starting to burn. He could feel what Voldemort was thinking. He was in his mind, just like the time when he had seen Mr. Weasley get bitten.

Harry was immensely pleased to see that Voldemort was very angry. He had to be careful though, because the one risk was that Voldemort was also connected to him and if he wasn't careful his whole plan could backfire.

Voldemort started to feel the connection and stopped in his tracks. He was on the edge of the Forbidden Forest and was about to enter. He felt Harry's anxiousness and his worries and it was making him happy. However, something was starting to break through the worries and the fear. Voldemort couldn't quite place his long, bony white finger on it because he had never felt it before so he just tried to push it out of his mind unsuccessfully.

Meanwhile, Harry was in Hagrid's hut concentrating with all his might. He had felt Voldemort's confusion at this knew emotion that Harry was forcing into his mind and he knew his plan was working.

A/N: next chapter up soon. ver soon...like maybe today too! please review!


	19. That Loving Feeling

Told you this would be up today…hopefully unless my computer is retarded and erases the entire chapter like it did before. Anyway on to the ?last chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything….except the plot.

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Chapter 19

He could feel that his plan was working. He could feel Voldemort's confusion. He knew that he had figured it out. Harry was going to use the one thing that Voldemort couldn't understand, the one emotion he had never felt, the only power he knew he had that the Dark Lord knew not…love.

He started to think about Sirius. Just like the time in the Ministry when Voldemort had possessed him, he had thought about Sirius and Voldemort couldn't take it. He thought about how much he loved Sirius and how much he missed him. He thought about the only Christmas that they had spent together and how much he had enjoyed it. He thought about how he would do anything to bring Sirius back.

His scar seared. Voldemort was angry, very angry. He could feel his confusion and pain. Harry's love for Sirius actually caused him pain. Voldemort did the only thing he could think of, he tried to fight back with the feelings of utter hatred that he felt towards everyone.

Harry's scar seared again. He tried to block out the pain and at the same time block out the hate he felt. He had the sudden urge to go out and fight, but he knew Voldemort was trying to trick him.

Harry fought back by thinking of his parents. He thought about the first time he had seen them in the Mirror of Erised. He thought about how much he loved them and how much they loved him. After all, they did sacrifice their lives for him. He thought about all this as well as what it would be like to have them here now, alive. These were not sad thoughts, they were mere projections of the happy life that could have been, and Harry projected these thoughts right into Voldemort's mind and he couldn't take it.

"Aaahhhh!" Voldemort screamed as his mind was bombarded by the emotion he had never felt, love. He countered the only way he knew how, by thinking of the most awful things he could think of. By thinking of all the hatred he had towards the world and sending it directly at Harry. By thinking of all the people he had killed and tortured.

Harry saw his parents die again and it wasn't easy.

Harry's scar seared more painfully still and he tried to block out the other visions that were sent his way. He thought of Ron and Hermione next. He thought about everything they had been through over the years and everything they had overcome. He thought about the love that Ron and Hermione had felt for each other. He also thought about how he would do anything to save his friends. He scar told him that Voldemort was getting angrier and weaker by the second. He knew he had to finish this soon.

He started to think about Pansy. Every now and then a muggle torture scene would spring into his head and he too would scream out in pain, but he tried to push it to the back of his mind as he also tried to ignore the fact that his head was splitting in two while he thought about the only other person he would give his life for, Pansy. He thought about her hair, her eyes, her smile, her smirk, everything. He thought about her hands and how they fit so perfectly in his. He even thought about how they seemed to fit perfectly together when they held each other. He thought about what it would be like to spend the rest of his life with her. He remembered her kisses and how they made him feel and he sent that feeling straight at Voldemort who was standing mere feet away at the edge of the forest doubled over in pain.

No emotions as pure as Harry's had ever entered the Dark Lord's head, and he couldn't handle them. They caused him physical pain. He couldn't even think straight. He tried to get the feelings out of him but it was too late. Harry sent one dose of feeling right after the other.

Lily, James, Sirius, Ron, Hermione, and Pansy. He thought about them all at the same time and how wonderful they all were to him and how much he loved them all.

To the people watching from the gaping hole in the Great Hall, this looked like a spectacle. It seemed to them like they were watching the Dark Lord go insane…not that he was ever sane. He was standing at the very edge of the forest screaming in agony as he held his head.

All of a sudden a glow from Hagrid's hut was visible. Harry would have seen it too had his eyes not been clamped shut in concentration. They glow steadily increased and the light escaped the hut and surrounded Voldemort and he was lifted into the air.

He was still screaming when he vanished and the last thing he said was, "I WILL RETURN!!"

He was gone without a trace. Although, the more observant eye would have seen, if they looked hard enough, a trail of black smoke fading away into the forest. His essence.

Everyone broke out into cheers. If Harry didn't know better he would have sworn he was at the Quidditch World Cup again. He opened his eyes and waited; waited for the pain of his scar to tell him whether or not he had been successful. All he felt was a slight tingle. He had heard Voldemort scream, followed by the worst burning in his scar of all…but then…nothing.

He walked out of the hut and looked around. No one was any where to be seen. He looked up at the massive hole in the side of the wall and saw everyone looking down at the scene. He looked wearily at them all and knew that he was not ready for them, or their questions, or their congratulations. He was physically and emotionally drained and couldn't stand the thought of even talking to anyone at the moment.

He gave one last glance at the people and began walking to the quidditch pitch. He got there and didn't even bother going up to the stands. He walked to the middle of the pitch and sprawled himself on the ground face up.

Pansy was beyond ecstatic, but she still couldn't be fully happy because she knew that Voldemort being dead was too good to be true. She was however starting to worry why Harry wasn't back yet. Then it hit her. Of course he wouldn't want to deal with all of these people right now. After everything that he no doubt just went through. She turned to Hermione who was looking out into the sky, probably thinking about Ron, and whispered, "Do you have any of _our_ invisibility potion left?"

Hermione nodded and pulled out a small vial. Pansy drank it before Hermione could ask why and disappeared from site. However, before she left she whispered to Hermione, "I'll find him and I'll bring him back when he's ready."

She left the Great Hall and knew exactly where to go. She knew he would want to be alone and far away from prying eyes, and that is why she headed towards the pitch.

She saw him lying there with his hands under his head for support. He had his eyes closed so he didn't see her coming. "Do you want a better pillow?" she whispered.

He was not very surprised that she was there. He knew she would come. She sat down beside him and without opening his eyes he laid his head down on her lap. She stroked his hair gently and he silently thanked her for understanding. It wasn't long before he fell asleep, and not too long after, she followed suit.

Needless to say, it was quite the charming sight when they were found the next morning.

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Once Harry felt comfortable again, he agreed to see Dumbledore in his office and explain everything that had happened.

Harry explained exactly what he had done. He left out nothing. He explained how he figured out what would hurt Voldemort and how he used it to his advantage. He also explained how Voldemort had tried to hurt him also using all of the hate he had known and all of the pain he had cause over the years. It felt good to get it all off of his chest.

It also helped that Pansy was there holding his hand for support. She couldn't believe how strong he had been and everything that he had to over come.

With much effort, the wall in the Great Hall had been repaired and a feast was held in honor of those who had died in the battle. Harry had almost not attended afraid that they might try to honor him in some way, but he was relived when they didn't. Letters had been sent to every parent that had not been fighting to tell them of what had happened. Dumbledore also sent a letter to the minister of magic explaining the "surprise attack", as he had called it, to Fudge. He doubted that Fudge would have approved of staying and fighting.

Since the term was over, Dumbledore informed Harry that with Voldemort gone (although he didn't really believe that he was gone and he told Harry this) Harry only had to return to the Dursley's long enough gather some of his things, then he would be able to live in Grimmauld Place for the remainder of the summer. Harry protested about having to return at all but he knew he had to.

Pansy was extremely depressed at the thought of having to return to a giant empty manor. Harry noticed her mood and was able to guess what was wrong.

"Why don't you come live with me at Grimmauld Place?" he asked the day before they were to return.

"R-really?" she could hardly believe it. She wouldn't have to return to the place haunted her nightmares.

When Harry told Dumbledore of their plans, Dumbledore merely asked one question, "Do you trust her with all of your secrets?"

"I trust her with my life," was Harry's reply.

Somewhere in the Forbidden Forest.

Her head was aching and she couldn't see straight. She gingerly touched her head where it hurt and removed her hand to find blood there. She looked around and saw William on the ground next to her. She tried to shake him awake. He turned over and she saw a giant gash on his head. He had lost a lot of blood…he was dead.

She tried to get up but the first few times she fell back down from dizziness. When she was finally able to get up she swayed slightly and grabbed a tree for support. That's when she saw it.

A black mist straight ahead. She walked slowly towards it, curious as to what it was.

When she neared it she put her hand into it. Then she heard it.

Patricia, a cold voice whispered from what seemed like inside the mist. _Come…step inside._

She walked closer until the mist was surrounding her. Instantly, she regretted it.

She began to choke. The mist was suffocating her. It entered her mouth, her nose and her eyes, until it possessed her entire body.

Patricia was no more, no more than a spectator in her own body. She had no control over the mist that now possessed her and she knew she couldn't beat it. No one could.

No one could defeat the Dark Lord.

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Well, that's all folks! I hope you liked it. I hope it made sense and I hope you review. Yay! I'm all done! I can't believe it. I'm so proud. Even if no one reads this. It's the very first fic that I ever started and now it's all done. wipes a single, solitary tear Well, my explanation for what happened is simple: if/when Voldemort dies in the books, I don't think it will be by any physical means, I think it will be deeper and having to do with the mind or the spirit or whatever. Plus I don't think he'll ever really die. Anywho…sequel??? I have no idea. I don't even know what it would be about. I'll think about it. It's not like anyone's going to read this anyway. That's fine with me, as long as the people who do read it, like it. BYE!! Jarie1019


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